


There's a Demon in my Biology Class (NO LONGER UPDATING)

by porcelainHeart



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: BillDip, High School, M/M, No longer updating, alcohol use, bill's subtle grand plan, billdip romance, for the most part cute billdip, maybe some violence, ok i lied theres gonna be some stuff going down later on, trans!Dipper
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2017-12-12
Packaged: 2018-04-02 05:14:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 21,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4047430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/porcelainHeart/pseuds/porcelainHeart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Dipper and Mabel arrive back in Gravity Falls after 4 years, they never planned on high school with an old, ah, "friend."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Home Sweet Home

The twins were finally back in Gravity Falls, after four whole years of being away from the city they had learned to love. When they had first been told the news, the siblings were thrilled, but as Dipper and Mabel had been boarding the bus back to the sleepy little town up in Oregon, the sound of their parents bickering followed them. The twin’s parents had decided that their marriage was not working out, and agreed that while filing for divorce, it was best if their children were not around, instead electing to ship them up to their Grunkle Stan for the whole year.

The bus screeched to a halt at the tiny, worn down bus stop, and Dipper grabbed his bags, while Mabel teetered under the weight of her own. They exited, relieved to be off the confines of the vehicle, and turned around to examine the surroundings while the bus pulled away.

“It’s kind of nice to be back here, after so long, you gotta admit it!” Mabel grinned and halfheartedly punched her brother on the arm, before taking a stance and using her hand as a visor against the mid-afternoon sun. “What direction is the Mystery Shack in again?”

Dipper looked around, trying to reorient himself to the city after four years. He spotted one of the old, run down signs that had been pinned to the traffic light poles back when they had first visited.

“Mabel! Over here.” He beckoned his twin back over, and they headed off to the Shack, stopping every now and then so that Mabel could pick up a bag that had fallen, or to tie a shoelace, or just to take it all in: the sights, the sounds, and the feeling of Gravity Falls.

After a few minutes of just wandering through the town and mulling over old memories, the twins finally stumbled into the lot of the Mystery Shack, ready to greet Stan. It was the beginning of August, and although the summer was coming to a close and Oregon usually cooled off quickly, they were still covered in a fine layer of sweat. Dipper plopped himself down on the steps to the porch while Mabel leaned against the railing, pulling her long curly hair into a wild ponytail and wiping her forehead.

“Dip, aren’t you excited to see Grunkle Stan again?” She crouched down next to Dipper, noticing that he had gotten quiet after they had arrived at Stan’s place.

“I dunno, Mabel. I guess it’s just, we’ve been gone for so long, and what are we even going to say to him? I know you’re imagining things to play out like they did when we were 12, but we’re older, and so is he.”

She sighed, but put her hand on his shoulder and raised herself up so she was standing again.

“Dipper, Stan always loves us, whether we’re 12 or 17 or 34! It’s great to be here, and even if things might be different, who cares? We’re back in Gravity Falls! At least let that thought cheer you up.” She offered him her hand, and he gave her a small smile as she pulled him up. “Now, I think we have four years’ worth of catching up to do!”

Mabel cheerily marched to the door, and knocked on it heartily three times. Inside, a muffled clang could be heard, followed by footsteps. The door slowly creaked open, revealing a shadowed figure in the doorframe.

There was Stan, looking exactly the same as he had when the twins were 12. He grinned broadly, and before they knew it, they were engulfed in hugs, unusual business from their great-uncle.

“Kids! Sorry about that, uh…” Stan trailed off, rubbing his neck in embarrassment while Mabel and Dipper looked at him in surprise. He stepped back and motioned for them to come inside, but Mabel instead threw herself at him, squeezing him tight and squealing in delight.

“Grunkle Stan! It’s so good to see you! How have things been? We have so much to talk about!” She released him and grabbed her bags, practically dancing back into the worn wooden floors of the Mystery Shack. Dipper looked at Stan sheepishly, and shrugged his shoulders.

“Sorry about that, she’s just really excited to be back.” He headed inside and was propelled forwards by a slap on the back from Stan. Dipper whirled around in confusion to see Stan grinning at him.

“Admit it kid, you missed this little town too.”

Dipper smiled and sighed a little.

“Yeah, I guess I did.”

. . .

Stan grimaced a little as he guided the twins upstairs and opened the door to the old attic, pretending not to notice Dipper’s raised eyebrows as he gestured for them that this would be their room for the rest of the year.

“Grunkle Stan? You know we aren’t little kids anymore, right? The attic?” Dipper wondered, while Mabel tossed herself onto her old bed, frowning a little when she realized that the bed was a little smaller than she had remembered it to be.

“Huh, this seemed like a good idea, but now that I think about it, you two sharing a room…” Stan sighed a little, before continuing on. “I just don’t have anywhere else to put you, with my brother taking his old room. You two are just going to have to deal with it, maybe hang a sheet between the beds if you want…” He trailed off. Mabel pulled herself up, and put a hand on his shoulder, aware that their great-uncle was trying his best.

“Thanks Grunkle Stan! I missed this old room, and I can almost feel my splinters starting to come back!” She grinned then headed out the door, back to the kitchen. “Are we not going to catch up on four years’ worth of information? I want to know how this old place has been!” She turned back to grab her brother’s hand and yank him downstairs with her, Stanley slowly padding behind them.

After everyone had gotten situated around the table, pitt colas in everyone’s hands, Stan finally relented to telling the twins about how the town had been while they were gone. Half-way through, Stanford wandered out from his room, grabbed himself a soda, and nodded along to his brother. When he finished, Ford cleared his throat and spoke up.

“Uh, hey kiddos, nice to see you.”

Everyone was silent for a few seconds, before Grunkle Stan coughed loudly, making Dipper jump a little in his seat.

“So how have you two been down in the city? This old man needs his outside info.” Stan leaned back in his chair.

Mabel let her hands rest on the table, and somewhat shrugged.

“We’re fine, I guess? I mean, Piedmont’s still kind of hot this time of year, there’s a drought, our parents are getting separated, I was going to try out for captain of the swim team as a junior, but I don’t really think that’s an option anymore….” She looked at Dipper, begging for him to add on.

“Oh! Uh, it’s kind of like Gravity Falls but with less supernatural stuff. I was working on some things back home though, finding some evidence. I guess it’s nice to be back, we could investigate more if we wanted to here.” Dipper finished.

Mabel let out a mild yawn, and Stan suggested that she and Dipper go unpack.

“Aww, come on Grunkle Stan! I want to know how Candy and Grenda are! There’s only so much you can know over the phone!” She whined, but relented to letting herself be dragged to the room. Stan called up after them.

“The conversation will be right here when you finish!”

 “It’s pretty nice to have them back around, although it’s kind of sad about the situation as to why they’re here, ya know?” Ford took a long slurp of his soda before chucking it in the garbage.

His brother nailed him with a nasty glare until Ford put his hands up in defeat.

“Okay, okay! I’ll recycle it! But I feel better knowing that you’re in it for the cash and not the benefit of the earth.” He scooped his can up and pointed at Stanley, before dropping it in a bag cluttered with cans and heading out the door.

Stan looked up the stairs, where he could faintly hear the twins arguing over closet space. He sighed and grinned.

“Good to have you back. I missed you.”


	2. First Day Jitters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Publishing a chapter every day is not a thing I'll usually do, its just to set up the plot a little more. Thank you for reading :)

“Come on Mabel, you’re going to make us late for the first day of school!!” Dipper yelled up, then shifted his weight impatiently at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for his slow sister to emerge from their room.”

“HOLD ON A SECOND I CAN’T FIND MY OTHER EARRING! ALSO HAVE YOU SEEN MY BACKPACK?” Mabel screeched, finally bursting through the door and hopping down the stairs while frantically pulling her left shoe on. She grabbed one of the waiting waffles in her brother’s hand, scooped up her backpack, and started for the door.

Dipper frantically began after her, pleading for her to slow down. She halted a little, waiting for him to catch up, then began her march forward once more.

“Mabel, my legs aren’t as long as yours are! We can’t all be freakishly tall.” Dipper grumbled while Mabel threw him a grin and messed up his hair.

“Not my problem that I’m the alpha twin and you’re just a bitter short stack of pancakes! Besides, I'm only taller than you by like an inch or two, chill out!” She laughed as he pushed her hand off and began to rearrange his hair for the third time that morning.

“Mabel I told you it was a bad idea to walk! We should have taken the car. Now I’m all sweaty!” Dipper complained, but Mabel kept at it with a spring in her step. The few remaining days of summer had flown by like nothing, and while Dipper caught up on his list of summer reading, Mabel had been catching up with Candy and Grenda, excited for a whole year of shenanigans with them. A few days before school began, she had her “Reunion Slumber Party!” and Dipper was about to head to Stanley’s room to avoid the laughter of three 17 year old girls, when Mabel called out to him in the hall.

“Dipper, I’ve been thinking, and I know you aren’t the most sociable person ever, but please at least try to make some friends! School will probably be much more bearable, since we won’t see each other all the time. Okay?” She waited for him to mumble a “Sure, whatever,” before slipping him a slice of pizza and heading back to the attic where the other girls were blasting old school Sev’ral Timez on full volume.

Mabel squealed with delight as the pair approached the small building, littered with a clump of people in the front, and the volume as if people hadn’t seen each other for years instead of being a few blocks away. Mabel grabbed her brother and pulled him over to her friends, where they talked for a little about what they hoped for the school year, classes, and how the twins were dealing with being in Gravity Falls again.

“Oh you know, we’re just settling back in! I guess things are going to be really different than just one summer, ya know!” Mabel grinned. The bell rang, and she nudged Dipper to look up from his phone and walk inside. She bid him goodbye and headed off to her first class, History. Dipper looked down at his schedule sheet.

  1.   P.E.



Dipper was planning to try out for the cross country team, and get out of the horror that was Gym, but for now, he had to suffer through the first day. Which included being lined up and squinted at judgmentally by an elderly woman who used to be a former body builder. As she sent them off one by one, Dipper approached her cautiously, and cleared his throat mildly.

“What do you want, snowflake?” She pulled out a stick of gum and began chewing on it slowly, a disapproving look in her eyes.

“Uh, I just moved up here, and I was planning to try out for a sports team? I’m Dipper, Dipper Pines. Do you know where I could talk to the cross-country coach?” He nervously awaited her response.

“You’re looking at her. Nice to meet ya, Dipper. Bit of a strange name, I don’t see a Dipper on my roster…” She began to flip through the pages, searching for his name.

“Pines! My last name is Pines, and I really prefer to be called Dipper!” He blurted out quickly, then continued. “Do you think I could try out for the team since I wasn’t in town for tryouts?”

“Sure thing, Mr. Pines, it’s not a problem. And stop being so darn jumpy all the time!” She patted his shoulder, and he breathed out, heading over to the other side of the gym to try and talk to people and await the sound of the bell.

Dipper lumbered through French and band before sliding into a desk in the middle of the room in his pre-calculus class. It was the last class before lunch, and everyone in the room was jittery with first day nerves and hunger. He pulled out his phone and scrolled absently through thumbnails about supernatural events, but perked up a little at the sound of the teacher calling roll. “Adam Calfer, Bill Cipher, Maria Edgars…”

Bill Cipher. But that was impossible, Bill was a triangle shaped demon, not a human! It had to be a coincidence, there was simply no other explanation!

“Dipper… Pines.” The teacher droned.

“Here! I’m here! Also, can I get some water?” The teacher nodded and he shot out of his seat, noticing the gaze of a blonde boy following him as he exited the class. Dipper headed straight for the bathroom, and gripped his head, breathing heavily. The twins had been traumatized by Bill as children, and now someone with the same name as him was in his class? Dipper took a few deep breaths to stop freaking out, and began to laugh. Demons in his new school. He could deal with this. He left the bathroom, took a sip of water, and headed back to the class. He listened to the teacher talk about the course syllabus and about dropping AP classes, before tuning her out and pulling out his phone.

 

[Dipper]: Mabel, need to talk at lunch. Urgent!!!

[Mabel]: um sure meet me in the courtyard. Sitting with the girls.

[Dipper]: Maybe we should talk alone first??? Kind of important. I’ll be in the math hallway.

 

The bell released the students for lunch, and Dipper turned off his phone and reached down to grab his bag, only to find a long, lithe body leaning over him. The blonde boy from earlier grinned down at him, one eye covered with a white medical eye patch.

“Hey Pine Tree! Long time no see.”


	3. Lab Partners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said that very frequent updates would not be a thing but I pre-wrote 7 chapters of this fic before I published it, so I'll publish those very quickly. Once I have those all published, chapters will be less frequent. Thank you very much for the reads and kudos!!

“Bill?” Dipper shot up out of his seat in surprise, accidentally hitting his head against the other kid’s head, and let out a yelp of pain. He rubbed his chin where Dipper had hit it, chuckling a little.

“Is that any way to greet a friend, Pine Tree? I was a little surprised to hear your name in here, especially since it’s been four years since we last saw each other!” The boy walked out of class and Dipper followed him, but as they passed the restroom, Dipper shoved him in with a grunt, considering how much taller he was, and slammed the door.

“Bill, what the heck is going on? How is this… how is any of this possible?” Dipper paced around the tile floors, franticly running his fingers through his hair while Bill silently leaned against the wall and pulled a bag of sour gummy worms out of his pocket. He offered one to Dipper, and got an angry glare in reply.

“Yeesh, sorry that you don’t enjoy the finer things in life, but suit yourself!” He pulled out three and began to chew, a taunting smile on his lips. Dipper slammed his hand against the wall next to Bill’s face, making the other boy startle.

“Look Bill, demon, whatever you are, I’m not in the mood to play games with you. Why and how the hell are you here? This isn’t right!”

Bill bent over just a little with a smirk, so that he was at eye level with Dipper’s small frame, a move that pissed him off. Dipper decided that whatever the creature had to say to him could wait until later, and instead pushed Bill back against the wall and huffed out the door. He was just leaving when he bumped into his twin.

“Hey Dips! I was just looking for you, you said we needed to talk?” She smiled broadly, but her smile changed to a look of confusion as her brother grabbed her hand and pulled her over to a different hallway. He looked around to make sure nobody was around them before leaning against the lockers and breathing out a sigh of relief.

“Dipdop, you feeling okay? You’re acting super weird and jumpy, like you’re being watched? What the heck is so important that you need to act like this?” Mabel crossed her arms and tapped her foot in waiting.

He took a deep breath.

“Mabel, Bill’s back! He’s got a human body, and even worse,” He paused, while Mabel’s eyes grew wide with fright.

“He’s a _student_ in our school.” Mabel gasped and then giggled a little bit, but bit her lip when she saw the haggard look on her brother’s face.

“Look Dipper, Bill’s a demonic triangle! How the heck could he be a human? This just doesn’t add up, and seems kind of fishy to me.” Mabel squinted in concentration, obviously trying to help come up with an explanation.

“I don’t even know!” He threw up his hands in defeat. “All I know is that his name was on the roster, he came over to me after class and said ‘Hi Pine Tree,’ and tried to offer me gummy worms in a bathroom!” Dipper was in near hysterics now.

“Gummy worms…?” Mabel mused, and looked in the direction of the boy’s bathroom.

“Mabel, this is serious! What’s Bill planning? What if he needs us again?”

She gripped his shoulders forcing Dipper to look at her.

“Bro, bro, calm down! We’ll figure this out, but you’re freaking out waaaay too much. It’s our first day of school In Gravity Falls! Of course something weird was gonna happen. I suggest you just try to push this out of your mind for now, maybe focus on making some new friends? I think I saw one of Wendy’s little brothers.”

Dipper sighed, and slowly nodded his head in defeat. Mabel nudged him gently and smiled at him, before setting off for the courtyard.

“You coming, dippingsauce?” Dipper jogged up to her, and they walked out into the courtyard together. From the distance they heard someone calling Mabel’s name, slowly coming towards them. Mabel slowly rotated to face the sound, and gasped in shock. Rushing at the twins was a girl with a pretty purple dress on, and an elegant blonde bob brushing her neck, pacing herself to their location.

Mabel’s mouth dropped open, and she began to stammer.

“P-Pacifica? Pacifica Northwest?”

Dipper whirled around at the sound of Pacifica’s name, and was frozen as well. Pacifica hurried over and wrapped a stiff Mabel in a hug, before doing the same to Dipper.

The twins had never been quite sure what Pacifica had thought of them, considering that she had been pretty mean to them in the beginning of summer when they were 12. However, she had warmed up to them and they had all parted on good terms, although Dipper could sense that Mabel was still iffy about where her friendship with the girl lay.

“Mabel! Dipper! I didn’t know you were in town! It’s been so long since I last saw you!” Pacifica smiled happily at them.

Mabel cleared her head and began to acknowledge the other girl.

“Wow… Pacifica! You look really different. I think it’s great!”

Pacifica fluffed her hair a little, her eyes crinkling in delight. “I know, right! I thought a change would be good. So what brings you two up to Gravity Falls? Don’t you two go to school in like, L.A. or something?” She cocked her head inquisitively.

“Piedmont.” Dipper mumbled under his breath, while Mabel very subtly stepped on his foot.

“Actually, we came up here for the school year! It’s pretty crazy huh? Our parents are… um, separating? And they thought it would be easier if we were away while the whole process went on.”

Pacifica frowned, very much aware of what it was like to have familial issues, and patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry, it’s going to end up fine! Besides, you’ve got friends here, so this year should be fun!” She smiled and hooked her arm through Mabel’s guiding her away from Dipper and chittering about how nice it was that they were back in town. Mabel shot Dipper an apologetic look and mouthed for him to tell Candy and Grenda, before being dragged like a doll by the merciless blonde.

Dipper shifted his backpack and looked around for Mabel’s friends, but they spotted him first and waved him down.

“Hey Dipper! Where’s your sister?” Grenda greeted him warmly.

“Uh, Pacifica got to her first, and whisked her away. She said to tell you that there wasn’t really much she could do.” Dipper offered a sympathetic glance, but they seemed to shrug it off.

Candy adjusted her glasses before looking up a Dipper, taking a bite of her sandwich. “That’s fine, I mean, she’s gotta catch up with her other friends right? Pacifica’s gotten a lot nicer since you were here last.” She turned her focus back to her lunch and the romance novel open on her lap. Dipper sat awkwardly between them, unsure of what to say, considering both girls were paying no attention to him. After a few awkward minutes, he got up and left, electing to finish his lunch under a tree and think about everything that had already happened that morning.

The bell brought him out of his thinking, and he glanced at his schedule before racing off to his biology class, determined to let the teacher know that he would rather be called Dipper before role happened. Arriving early was the best way to avoid a mix-up and humiliation on his part, he had decided, and once he arrived to the room he spent about three minutes explaining to the teacher that Dipper was the name he used full time, on a regular basis, and that it was a PERFECTLY normal thing. Once the teacher scratched out his name with an irritated scowl, he sighed and fell into a seat in the first row of the class. He noticed Mabel walk in talking to Pacifica, and they sat down at a station together. The class slowly began to fill up, and Dipper noticed that eventually his seat was the only available seat, since first row seats were the bane of a student’s existence.

“It looks like we’ve just got one student missing… There he is!” The teacher, who had introduced himself as Mr. Jones, turned back to the board as a kid came lazily walking into the classroom. Dipper paid no attention to who it was until he felt a body slide itself into the seat next to him, which made sense considering that his station was the only available one. Dipper looked up to introduce himself, and his eyes widened as he saw it was Bill who had taken the seat next to him. Bill looked back at him and his eyes widened a little in surprise, before narrowing.

Dipper huffed and looked straight forward at the board, tuning out the class and focusing on what the teacher was saying.

“Now, I don’t like assigning seats, so the seats you’ve just chosen will be the ones you have for the rest of the year, and the people next to you will be your permanent lab partner.”

Dipper let out a small cry of horror. He looked over at Bill and saw his face was set in a frown, not as pleased at this news as Dipper thought he would be. They practically ignored each other for all of class, and once the bell rang, Dipper quickly went his separate way, making sure he went fast enough to guarantee that Bill wouldn’t catch up to him. He could barely pay attention in the rest of his classes, and was more than relieved once the day was finally finished. He headed out the door, not bothering to wait for his sister, and was almost past the school grounds when he noticed Bill’s figure leaning lazily against a tree. Figuring that now was the perfect time to get some answers, he marched over to the boy. Even though he was much shorter than Bill, Dipper got in his face and spoke his words loud and clear.

“Alright Bill, we need to talk. I want some answers about all of this, and you’re going to give them to me.”

Bill smirked a little, and started walking. “You want answers? Fine. Follow me."


	4. Pay Attention, Bill!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4! I'll probably publish a new chapter every 3 or so days until I don't have any more pre-written ones. Also, thank you so very much for the reads! It makes me very happy that people like my work, if you enjoyed it please leave a comment or kudo :)

Bill wandered over a few blocks from the school where a long line of cars rested, although he could have probably gotten away with parking in the senior lot. He pulled out his keys and headed over to the front of the line.

Dipper looked around for the fancy, sleek car that the demon most likely drove, but couldn’t see one.

“Um, are you planning to drive me anywhere? Where is your car?”

Bill patted the hood of a small, bright yellow, Volkswagen bug. “She’s right here” He exclaimed proudly, before throwing open the door and crawling inside. Dipper looked at the car in distaste, realizing that it was exactly the type of car that Bill Cipher would own, then got inside as well.

Bill, to say the least, was a terrifying driver. There was no question about it that he had never taken a lesson in his life, and although he followed all the rules, the ride was jerky and rough, and when Bill finally pulled into the lot for Lazy Susan’s diner, Dipper felt like he was going to puke. Bill looked smugly at Dipper’s green-tinted face, obviously pleased with his handiwork. He separated a key from the key ring and stuck it in the back door to the diner. Dipper looked taken aback, and stared a Bill with his mouth gaping.

“Bill, you might be a demon, but right now, as a human, that’s called breaking and entering and I can’t let you do that!”

Bill sighed as if what Dipper had said was the dumbest thing to ever come out of anyone’s mouth.

“Pine Tree, do you think I would have a _key_ if I wasn’t allowed to be in here?”

“Oh. Sorry.”

Bill smirked. “It’s funny how you always think I’m up to no good.” He disappeared inside the restaurant, and Dipper scaled the stairs after him.

“Bill, why the heck did you bring me to a restaurant to talk? We could have done it outside of the school, or…” He stopped when he saw Bill tying an apron around his waist and wandering into the kitchen. “Do you work here?”

“Wow! Pine Tree has come to the correct conclusion! Ten points for you.” Bill praised sarcastically. “How long did it take you to get that? I expected better from you.” He hummed as he set a pot of water on to boil. Dipper took a few steps away from the stove.

“So what did you want to ask, Pine Tree?” Bill opened the fridge and grabbed two sodas, tossing one to Dipper and resting one arm on the counter.

“You know exactly what I want to know. How are you all this?” He motioned up and down at Bill.

The boy raised one eyebrow. “Like what you see? A lot of girls at the school do apparently.” Dipper made a noise in his throat, and Bill continued. “It was kind of an accident, I wasn’t supposed to end up with the body of a teenager!” His face contorted into one of disgust, then settled back into a neutral position.

“I’ve been around for a while, Pine Tree. Made some powerful deals here and there, saved up some energy from them. It’s even better when I get a soul. Oh man, souls are so fun to work with!” Bill smiled in glee thinking about it. “After you and your sister left, I visited some new places, made some more deals, and had about enough energy to build a body. I guess I either didn’t have enough to be the age I wanted, or I should really pay more attention when doing stuff like this. I miss margaritas.” He sighed.

“But it’s something I gotta deal with, and it’s sometimes convenient. I can get the stuff I need anyways, sometimes more easily than if I were an adult.” Bill finished.

“Stuff you need?” Dipper questioned.

Bill put a finger to his lips. “Where’s the fun in telling you?” He turned back around and grabbed some foods from the pantry while Dipper was at a loss for words. He shuffled around, chopping things up until Dipper sniffed the air.

“Bill, is there supposed to be a burning smell?”

Bill shook his head. “Pine Tree, stop trying to get me distracted, I won’t tell you what I’m up to…” He took a sniff as well. “Shit. Shit shit SHIT!” He rushed over to the stove where a cloth had been hanging too near to the fire and was now engulfed in flames. He hightailed it over to the cabinet and yanked the fire extinguisher off of the wall. He threw the pin out and began to spray the foam all over the pot and stove, wiping his brow as the flames sputtered out.

There was a clang from the front and the kitchen door banged open. Lazy Susan hurried over to inspect the scene.

“What happened? Bill, you have GOT to start paying more attention!” She reached into the goop and pulled out a charred cloth. “Out, out with the two of you! I can’t believe you set _another_ fire! You’re such a sweet boy, but you’re so careless!” She shooed the boys out, shaking her head from side to side.

“Another fire? What the heck! Are you living with Lazy Susan?” Dipper slid into an empty booth, while Bill sat across from him, inspecting his nails.

“Yeah, I work for her sometimes and she lets me stay in a spare room. She makes really good pies.” Bill acted as if he hadn’t almost just started a kitchen fire. Dipper rubbed his eyes. He had the information he wanted, and got up to leave.

“Don’t you want a ride, Pine Tree?” Bill seemed to be genuinely asking, but Dipper didn’t like the idea of being alone with Bill again, worried that something worse than a fire might happen.

“Nah, I’ll just walk.” The door to the diner jingled pleasantly as he opened it and walked out.

“See you tomorrow at school.” He grumbled, as the door slammed close with a thud.


	5. Sugar Rush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 more chapters left until I stop with the every three days updates! I'm very excited that people enjoy this, I hope people will like the direction it heads in later on, if you enjoyed it please leave a comment or a kudos! Thank you :)

Candy’s car pulled into the Mystery Shack lot, and Mabel skipped inside loudly declaring her hunger, a move that startled Grunkle Stan, Stanley, and Dipper from their game of poker. Mabel immediately saw the cards and pulled up a stool to the table.

“Grunkle Staaaaan why didn’t you wait for me to get back! You know I love poker.” She finished with a devious look in her eye.

“I thought you were hungry, kid. Also you know we don’t play poker with you anymore.” She scowled and looked down, balling her skirt in her hands.

Stan checked his watch and scratched his chin. “Huh, would you look at the time. Already 7:30. Hey Stanford, what do we have to eat?” He called to his twin, who had disappeared into the kitchen after Mabel arrived. There was a sound of the fridge opening, and cans being rearranged.

“We got some cans of meat, like 2 eggs, and I think this lettuce is ok? It might be kind of moldy. Oh, and mustard!” He shouted back in response. Dipper groaned a little, preparing to have to dig into a nice can of meat, when Stan rummaged through his coat pocket and pulled out a stack of bills.

“Uh, business was pretty good today, so we’ve got a little extra cash.” He handed Dipper and Mabel 20 dollars each. “Go buy dinner, or assorted snacks, I don’t really care what you do with the money.” He got up and shouted “Do we have any ground beef?”

Mabel turned to Dipper and started squealing. “I call driving!” She bolted for the car.

“What? No way! That’s so unfair.” Dipper raced after her, but she had already settled in the driver’s seat, and was motioning for him to hurry up.

The Gravity Falls grocery store was empty, save for a couple of soccer moms buying oranges and some of the tough guys who inhabited the bar most of the day. Mabel grabbed a basket and headed off for the candy aisle, and Dipper headed to the hot meals section. After pondering between soup and pizza, he grabbed them both and met his sister at the front, his suspicions confirmed when he saw her basket stuffed with twenty dollars’ worth of candy.

“Mabel, go put that back.” Dipper frowned, but she shook her head no.

“Look at all the stuff they have! Sour straws, M&M’s, gummy worms!” She grinned broadly, her eyes squeezed shut.

“You’re not going to be full if you eat all of that junk!” He eyed Mabel warily, and she gave a pointed look into his basket.

“Why don’t we just share? You’ll get candy and I’ll get some pizza and soup!” She looked pleased with the compromise, and Dipper shrugged, realizing that he may as well give in at this point.

Mabel balanced the box of sour straws on her lap, driving while dancing to loud pop music and munching on candy. Dipper fumbled for a piece, but gave up when he couldn’t find an opportunity to snag one. Instead, he reached into Mabel’s bag and grabbed the first thing his hands touched, before sneakily shoving it into his jeans. Mabel continued to loudly sing every word to the song, and pulled into the back of the shack. Dipper hopped out and grabbed the bags, while his sister stayed for the rest of the song.

He grabbed two bowls, some plates, and headed up to the attic, where he spread out the food on the flood and began to divide it evenly. He felt the lump in his pocket and felt kind of bad, but removed the thought from his mind. Mabel wouldn’t miss one more package of candy, since she had bought so much. He crept over to his bed, and pulled the bag out, inspecting what he had snatched.

Gummy worms. Great.

He shoved them under his mattress, and sat back down on the floor just as Mabel walked in, still humming the song under her breath. Mabel plopped down in front of her plate and shoved a piece of the pizza in her mouth, chewing slowly and thoughtfully.

“So. What’s it like having a demon for a lab partner?” She propped her chin on her hands and gave him a coy smile.

“I have a feeling that it’s going to end up horribly!” Dipper put his hand on his forehead and lay down on the ground, one are spread out. “This is the worst thing to happen, it’s so unbelievably ridiculous. I’m struggling to wrap my mind around how he’s human, even though he told me after school!”

“He did WHAT now?” Mabel narrowed her eyes. “Dipper, were you alone with a demon trying to get answers? Don’t you remember what happened the last time?” She hissed. “You got possessed, Dipper. However, I still wanna hear this. How the heck is the evil triangle guy just… not a triangle?”

Dipper began to retell the events of that afternoon, with Mabel looking on wide-eyed.

“So he’s got a body because he’s looking for things, but we don’t know what, or why? This is actually pretty scary, considering how much effort he put into all of this, but I do have to commend him on his form, he’s pretty cute… Pacifica thinks so too.”

“Mabel, stop! He’s also pretty reckless. I don’t think he’s taken a single drivers ed class because he drives like a blind man, and he started a kitchen fire in Lazy Susan’s diner!” Dipper hunched his shoulders in frustration as Mabel rocked backwards, shaking with laughter.

“Oh my god, so he’s a klutz! That is kind of hilarious.” She wiped her eyes and calmed herself down. “Dipper, please imagine triangle Bill driving that tiny yellow car.” She burst into hysterics again, and Dipper couldn’t help but laugh at the sheer stupidity of the thought. They stayed awake chatting for a few hours, Mabel discussing how nice it was to see Candy and Grenda again, how Pacifica was different, cute boys she had seen in the hallway, how she planned to try out for some sports. Dipper listened to her go on, until she finally got up to take a shower.

“Go to sleep, Dippin’ Dots! We’ve got school tomorrow.” She sauntered away, and Dipper stayed where he was until he heard the water running. He crawled over to his bed and slipped his fingers under the mattress, pulling out the bag of gummy worms. He stared at it for a few minutes, before tearing it open and popping one into his mouth, letting the chewy, sweet flavor wash over his tongue and ingrain itself into his senses.


	6. Invitations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for not publishing this yesterday! I have about one more chapter to publish and then it will most likely be that chapters get put up about once a week or so. Thank you so much for reading!

The next day at school after math class, Bill followed Dipper into the courtyard.

“Can I help you?” He finally whirled around and glared up at the demon, who said nothing and shrugged, fiddling with the rolled up sleeve of his white, collared shirt.

Dipper let out a groan and continued outside, back to the tree he ate lunch under the first day. However, Mabel spotted him and called his name, imploring him to join her, Candy, Grenda, Pacifica, and a few other people. He speeded towards them with Bill hot on his trail, and slid into the seat next to Pacifica so that he could face Mabel. Bill somewhat ordered the boy sitting next to Mabel if he could move over so that he could be next to her. The kid shot Bill a dirty glance, but accepted his request, and Bill squeezed one long leg in after the other.

Dipper noticed that Mabel was smirking and Pacifica was blushing just a little, and remembered what his sister had said last night.

“He’s pretty cute… Pacifica thinks so too.”

He rolled his eyes at the thought, and pulled out his phone, scrolling through more investigation threads and avoiding eye contact with anyone at the table, although he could feel Bill’s eye boring a hole into his soul.

“So I heard you’re trying out for the cross-country team, Dipper?” Pacifica’s voice directed at him made his head snap up.

“Huh? Oh, um yeah? I’m trying out today, actually. I’m not too nervous though.” Dipper crossed his arms and smiled smugly. “I had one of the fastest times for the 3 mile run in our school back home.”

Mabel snorted. “Yeah, because you were always running away from something. And you constantly complained about how there was that one kid whose time you could never beat. I don’t see what’s so appealing about just straight up running anyways!” She pulled out the half eaten box of sour straws from last night and ignored her sandwich.

Pacifica laughed while eyeing Bill inconspicuously. “Well I hope you don’t run away from my birthday party in three weeks, you nerd! I expect to see you all there, I’ll have proper invites for everyone tomorrow. I just wanted to let you know early!” Mabel looked absolutely delighted, and Pacifica smiled at everyone at the table, who looked equally excited. The Northwests were notorious for their grand parties, and an invitation to one was highly coveted.

Dipper stared at her in surprise. “You’re just now turning 17?”

Pacifica looked offended. “I already turned 17, in early august! I just like to have my parties when I know everyone will be in town. It makes it more fun, you know?” With that, she turned away from Dipper and engaged in conversation with some of her other friends about what dress she was thinking about wearing. The bell dismissed them to their fifth period classes, and everyone stood up and dispersed out of the courtyard.

Dipper threw his backpack on the ground and pulled his stool up closer to the desk once settled in biology, wondering what the teacher had in store for them on the second day. Bill plopped down on his stool and rested his elbow on the desk, mushing the side of his face against his hand.

“So Pine Tree, a party? You gonna go? I’ve always been the type of demon to entertain, and Pacifica’s parties are actually pretty fun! I’ve always liked the Northwests, and the sweet 16 last year was top notch, although I do recall one in India where the party girl ended up being beheaded…”

“Leave me alone, Bill!” Dipper hissed, too loudly.

“Mr. Pines, are you and Mr. Cipher finished? Or would you like to continue on while the rest of the class waits?” The teacher tapped his foot impatiently, and Dipper turned bright red. Bill kept his nonchalant expression and waved his hand at the teacher.

“We’re finished, you can continue on.”

There was some muffled laughter from a few students in the back of the room, but Mr. Jones was obviously not amused.

“Mr. Cipher, I’ve seen your record, and it is rather impressive. Maybe I should add on one more detention to the list?” He moved to pull a pink detention slip notepad from the desk, his pen poised over the paper.

Dipper saw Bill’s face pale just a tiny bit, and laughed a little to himself, glad that regular old detentions weren’t something an all-powerful demon of the mind was able to worm out of.

“Mister Pines, is this funny to you? Maybe a detention would be funnier?”

“N-no sir. Sorry sir.” Dipper ducked his head, practically glowing with embarrassment. He could hear his sister trying her hardest to contain her laughter. After a minute or two, Mr. Jones began to pass out papers and instruct them about the expectations and quality of work for his AP biology class. He droned on, and when the bell rang, he blocked the door and continued to talk, before stepping aside and letting the class flood into the hall.

Mabel rushed up to Dipper and began to burst out laughing before he had even turned around. He crossed his arms with a scowl and glanced up at Mabel, her tall frame doubled over laughing.

“I can’t even imagine your face! That must have been so mortifying, especially with what Bill said! I gotta get to class though, so see ya!” With that, Mabel merged into the crowd of students, and Dipper could just see her head over the crowd of students. Dipper could tell that the day was going to be a long one.


	7. Party Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This is the last chapter that I will be posting for three weeks, since I'll be leaving town and won't have access to a computer, but once I get back I'll start writing new chapters! Luckily this is a long chapter :)

Mabel helped Dipper adjust his tie, and he pulled at his collar a little, his shoulders sinking in defeat.

“Why does her birthday party have to be a big, formal event? Why can’t she just be like other teenagers and do, I don’t know, paintball?”

“Dipdop, you KNOW paintball isn’t Pacifica’s style! She likes to go all out, and I for one, am excited!” She chided, but did a little twirl in the mirror. “How do I look, bro-bro?”

Dipper had to admit, Mabel looked stunning. She had dragged Dipper with her to the mall for three hours looking for a dress, and had finally settled on one that started out tight at the top but flowed out at her waist and down her legs, changing in color from blue to purple to pink and littered with shimmer. Dipper could tell that it was most likely going to end up being dirty, stained, or ripped, but decided to let Mabel enjoy herself.

“We’re almost ready, do you wanna start the car?” She gave Dipper a pointed look, and he marched down the stairs, grabbing the keys off of the cabinet and saying a hurried, “Bye, see you later!” to Stanley, who was bunched up in a chair with a book. He put the key in the ignition and jiggled the control stick a little, to make sure it wasn’t stuck. Reclining back in his seat, he looked up into the attic window to see Mable fluffing her hair one last time, and grabbing a small silver box with Pacifica’s birthday gift, a beautiful silver necklace adorned with an empty crown locket. Dipper was surprised at how much his sister had warmed up to Pacifica, and realized that she was actually pretty funny and tolerable once you broke through her tough outer shell. Mabel was currently working on getting Pacifica to be better friends with Candy and Grenda, and she seemed to be doing well.

He smiled a little as Mabel bounced over to the car, her long dress bunched up in her hands. She stuck the box into the car through the window and opened the door. She pondered for a few seconds about how to enter the car, before electing to jam herself into the seat and drag the rest of the dress in. After what felt like ages, she was buckled up and squirming to adjust herself, so Dipper pressed on the gas and began the drive to the Northwest mansion.

“Ooo a valet!” Mabel squealed as they pulled into the large drive between the massive wooden gates. Dipper scoffed a little, but his sister just shook her head. “I KNOW you’re impressed, you’re just being too stuck up to admit it!” She brightly accepted the hand of the young man working the service, and pulled herself up out of the car, staring in wonder at the elegant lights strung all around the bushes and windows.

“Hurry up, slowpoke! This is gonna be so fun!” She bounced on her heels and strode up the steps, entering the magnificent foyer. Dipper lumbered a bit behind her, taking it all in. He watched as his twin’s shimmery trail disappeared into the swarm of people in fancy clothing trying to dance, keeping tabs on her location by watching the top of her head, until he got tired of it and set off to find the food.

His plate piled up high with fondue, cookies, and some French fries that were completely out of place at the party, munching as he walked around. Some people from school saw him and they exchanged mild hellos, Dipper stopping to ask one of Wendy’s brothers how she was. He spotted Bill’s lanky frame once or twice, and he seemed to be shamelessly flirting with anyone who would stand still long enough. Mabel bumped back into him a few times, and even forced him to join a dancing group, but he slipped out and crept into a hallway, where a few kids were waiting for the bathroom.

“Dipper! You didn’t even come say hello to me, and at my own party too! Is this any way to treat a host?” He looked up, face to face with Pacifica, her shiny blonde coif bouncing as she tapped her feet, expecting a response from him.

“Hey Paz! Um, happy late birthday I guess. The party’s really fun, I promise!” He gave her a sheepish smile, and she sighed, closing her eyes halfway.

“Look Dipper, I can _totally_ tell when someone isn’t having fun, and Mabel’s been really worried that you wouldn’t try to make new friends! There’s literally almost everyone from our classes, so if you won’t try to have fun for me, at least try for your sister.” She jabbed her thumb in the direction of Mabel, Candy, and Grenda in a heated conversation with several confused looking boys.

Dipper just pressed his lips together, and was about to excuse himself for some more cake, when an arm snaked its way around his shoulders. He jerked away a little and glanced up, straight into the hazy eye of Bill Cipher.

“How’s it hanging, Pine Tree?” He blinked his eye in what may have been an attempt at a wink, and Dipper rolled his eyes, looking at Pacifica who was not so subtly pulling her dress up and adjusting her boobs a little, creeping ever so close to the demon in a way that disgusted Dipper just a little.

“Hi Bill! Soooo glad you could come to my party! It’s super fun, right?” She purred a little, touching his arm, and it took every ounce of self-control that Dipper had to not burst out laughing right then and there.

Was Pacifica seriously flirting with Bill?

Bill pulled her hand off of his arm and patted it, giving her a somewhat condescending smile. “The party is pretty good, not one of the best I’ve been to, but still good. Although… a tip for the future might be that you should add something fun, maybe a guillotine or a dead body? Keep it up, Glama!” He turned his back to her and faced Dipper, while Pacifica’s jaw dropped open and she stomped away in slight confusion, mumbling to herself.

“Glama? What is that? Is that even a word?”

Dipper furrowed his brow.

“Bill, that was rude, even if you might be some ancient demon stuck in a human body, that’s no reason to be mean to her on her birthday. Also, what the hell is a glama?” He crossed his arms and looked away.

Bill scratched his head. “It’s a mix of the word glam and llama? I thought that was pretty obvious, and why did she walk away? Did I say something mean, Pine Tree? Honestly, I can’t really remember what I just said, look what I stole!” Dipper turned his attention back on the boy next to him, and muffled a laugh when he saw a very large glass jar of whiskey.

“Bill, where did you even find that? How much did you drink?” He hissed at the loopy demon, who was whistling some kind of eerie melody. He had to shove Bill’s arm to get his focus back.

“Huh? Oh! Well, um, you see, I was snoopin in the study when I found a cabinet and I thought ‘Maybe I shouldn’t be here?’ but then I remembered that I’m a nearly omniscient being of energy and that I can do whatever the hell I want! So I busted in and found this full jar of alcohol.” He swirled the remaining whiskey around, before taking a swig and offering it to Dipper. “Want some?” His words slurred.

Dipper pushed the jar away from him, shaking his head. “For someone who’s supposedly thousands of years old you act like a regular seventeen year old. Have fun waiting for the bathroom, Bill! I hope you don’t puke all over Pacifica’s parent’s carpet.” He was ready to walk away, when Bill leaned over his shoulder from behind, whispering in his ear.

“You should stay with me, you’re _much_ more interesting than all these other dull kids.” He nipped Dipper’s ear, and the boy yelped and pulled away, a deep red blush spreading to his cheeks and neck.

“Bill, you’re drunk! Pull yourself together!” He started away, but Bill grabbed his arm, and fell against his shoulder. Dipper started to panic, but then Bill looked him in the eye.

“Hey Pine Tree, can I tell you something?” Bill’s words slurred together, and Dipper nodded his head and gulped.

“I think I had too much to drink.” With that, Bill fell over on the ground, and proceeded to vomit.

On Pacifica’s parent’s favorite carpet pattern.

And Dipper’s pant leg.

Dipper stared at Bill in horror, as he pushed himself back up, and started for the door of the house, while Pacifica raced over to the carpet, letting out a small shriek.

“God, Pacifica, I’m so sorry this happened, ah shit I should have paid attention to him, tried to get him to a bathroom-“ Pacifica held her hand up and he stopped, while the girl let out a sigh.

“Ugh, just, make sure he gets home safely, okay? I don’t want him to end up dead.” Dipper nodded his head in agreement, and followed after Bill, although he could hear Pacifica muttering something about how “He wasn’t as cute as I thought.”

“Bill! Bill stop!” Dipper grabbed the demon’s arm as he tried to shove himself into the ridiculously tiny car, and Bill looked at him with a sort of anger.

“Pine Tree, let go of my fucking arm!” Dipper refused, and yanked hard, causing Bill to topple out of the car on top of him. He quickly shuffled away, and darted in front of the door.

“Bill, in case you forgot, you’re a drunk demon in a human body, which means that it’s not safe for you to be anywhere near that car, no matter how much you think you can drive it. Although I’m not sure if I could tell the difference between your drunk driving and your sober driving.” He muttered at the end.

“What do you suggest I do then, Pines?”  Bill looked down at him with his hands on his hips, and frowned.

“Let me drive you home.” Dipper wanted to mentally smack himself, but it was too late, for he was already guiding the loopy boy to the car brought out by the valet. He half shoved Bill into the passenger seat, before crawling into the car himself, and starting up the engine. Dipper turned to Bill for directions, but he was already sound asleep in the seat next to him, leaving the boy to sigh and pull out of the great drive, unaware of the way to Lazy Susan’s home.


	8. Close Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm so so so SO sorry about how long it took between this chapter and the previous one. I was at summer camp and then in a cabin in the mountains so I didn't have many opportunities to write. I apologize because this chapter is not very long, but I'll be trying to write several more chapters in order to put them out quickly. Thank you for being patient!! Also huge shoutout to my great friend billciphering on tumblr for basically beta reading every single chapter!!!! go check out her blog, It's really great :)

Dipper didn’t expect to be dragging a drunk demon up the steps of his own home but lo and behold, that’s how he was spending the remainder of his evening.

“Bill, just use your fucking legs!” he mumbled, but only got a low grunt in response, to which Dipper grit his teeth and stumbled up the last step, dropping Bill like a sad sack of potatoes onto the wooden porch. He rubbed his forehead, staring at the creature below him who had a glazed look on his face, trying his best to prop himself back up. He met Dipper’s eyes with a scowl, and rubbed the back of his head.

“What the hell was that for, Pines? Could you have any kind of manners at all to at least set me down gently? I’d rather not be found lying in a pool of drool or something in front of my house…” He trailed off as he became more aware of his surroundings.

Dipper was fumbling with his keys, his hands shaking as he twisted the door knob. “Could you keep it down a little? I’m trying to get you inside without the Stans finding out!” He jingled the key ring in frustration, trying to find the right one.

“Pine Tree, this is NOT Lazy Susan’s house! Are you nuts, trying to bring me into your house? Do you even understand how bad of an idea this is?” Bill managed to grip onto the worn down couch out front, hefting himself up unsteadily, and practically flopping over onto Dipper. “Take me to her house right. Now.” Dipper had never seen anyone so frantic, and he wasn’t sure if it was just the alcohol, or if the demon was trying to save his own hide from Dipper’s two great uncles.

Dipper inserted another key into the lock, and let it hang, crossing his arms to face Bill.

“Fine. Tell me the directions and I’ll drive you there.”

Bill’s face scrunched up into one of satisfaction, but slowly distorted into one of frustration, and quickly escalated into him pacing back and forth while whacking his head. After about a solid three minutes, he hung his head in defeat.

Dipper rolled his eyes, and twisted the key, pleased when it turned all the way. He jiggled the handle a bit, then turned it and pushed the door open a crack.

“Stay here, so I can make sure the coast is clear, alright?” He looked over his shoulder at Bill, whose head was drooped forward unresponsively. He whacked his arm quickly, causing the boy to jolt up.

“I’m awake, I’m awake, I swear!” He rubbed his eyes carelessly, then trudged over to the sofa, plopping down on it and fixing Dipper with a pointed look. “Aren’t you gonna check to see if it’s ok?”

Dipper groaned, and whipped around to face Bill.

“Look, Bill, I’m doing you a huge favor, I’m trying to help your drunk little ass from getting in trouble with the Northwests, Lazy Susan, and my Grunkles! _So why the hell are you still being a pain in my ass?”_ Dipper closed the door and leaned against it, looking over at Bill who had conjured up a tiny blue flame and was letting it flicker around his fingers absently. A mouse ran over the porch and right past Bill, but stopped right in front of him, almost hypnotized by the fire. Bill set his hand down, letting the tiny creature scamper up onto him, and pulling it up to his face. The mouse ran around a few times, but then sat down and just stared at Dipper.

Bill seemed to be in a trance himself, gazing thoughtfully at the small animal in his palm, but then quickly looked at Dipper and grinned.

“Hey Pine Tree, remember this trick?” He twirled his finger around a little, and the little mouse’s head was pulled back a bit. Dipper stared in horror as the teeth in its mouth flew out into Bill’s other hand, while the demon chuckled manically to himself, before letting the teeth reattach themselves into the rodent’s mouth. The poor creature squeaked frantically, out of its trance, and jumped from his hand to quickly scurry under the porch. Dipper looked to the other side, afraid that he too would puke up his fondue and cookies from earlier.

“This is unbelievable. Why the hell am I doing this? I can’t put up with this, you’re even more insane than when I was twelve!” Bill was quietly laughing, reminding Dipper of the echoing voice that had haunted him ever since. Dipper stuck his finger right in Bill’s face, and while he was struggling to figure out where to look, Dipper hissed his words to him.

“I’m not putting up with this at all tonight. We are going upstairs, you’re going to bed, and that’s it. You better be gone in the morning when I wake up, or there are going to be some problems, you hear? You can’t just pop back into my life and start messing things up. Not again.” He pushed open the door and glared at Bill until he lazily stood up and sauntered through the doorway, slowly making his way to the stairs.

The coast seemed clear, and Dipper ever so gently shut the door closed, following after Bill, until he noticed a light flick on at the end of the hall.

“Dipper? Mabel? Is that you?” Grunkle Stan emerged from his room, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, while Bill frantically looked around the room and elected to jump behind the chair in the T.V. room with an elegant thud. Dipper hastily rushed to the wall and leaned up against it, his body shaking with nerves.

“Hey Stan! I decided to come home a little early, Mabel’s spending the night, I think, nothing to worry about! Aha…” He finished his rambling with a hasty, panicked laugh, causing his great uncle to squint at him suspiciously.

“Dipper, you better not be hiding anything from me, because I’ll find out sooner or later. Goodnight, Kid.” He patted his great nephew’s arm, stepped into the kitchen to grab a soda, and headed back to his room. Once Dipper heard the door shut, he heaved out the breath he had been holding in, and leaned over the chair to let Bill know it was safe. After creeping up the stairs and directing the demon to his bed, because there was no way in hell he would let Bill sleep in Mabel’s bed, he glared at Bill again.

“Why do you always have to make things difficult for me? That was such a close call just now, you’re lucky you weren’t caught.” Dipper sighed and lay his head down on his pillow. “Bill, you better remember what I told you about leaving tomorrow.” He listened for a response, but was only met with heavy snoring.

“Great.” Dipper mumbled. “I just hope he doesn’t drool on my pillow.” He turned out the lamp, and lay in bed, unable to fall asleep until a few hours later, kept awake by his thoughts, and the gentle sound of a demon fast asleep.


	9. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so very much for being patient with me! I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter, I apologize for the waits between chapters, as I don't have them all pre-written like before. I might not post a new chapter for a little while after because I need to go through and change Stanley to Ford and vice versa (darn u AToTS!) as well as fix some minor details that have been bugging me for a while. School is also going to start for me very soon, and there are some things I need to do for it, but I promise I'll try to keep updating as often as I can! I appreciate you all :D Comment or leave a kudo if you can!

The hostile sound of a buzzing cellphone was what woke Dipper up in the morning. He sat up in bed, yawing, and when his eyesight cleared, he glanced over at Mabel’s bed, expecting to see his twin twisted up in her sheets, but was slightly shocked when he saw a messy mop of blonde hair against dark skin instead of Mabel’s light brown locks. Suddenly he remembered everything that had happened last night, from Bill getting sick, to a close encounter with Stan.

Then he remembered that he had told the demon to shoo before he woke up in the morning, but honestly, what was Dipper expecting when it came to Bill Cipher? He was always full of tricks and scams, and promising to leave the shack before anyone woke up and could catch him was just another one. Dipper pushed himself off of his bed and ripped the sheets off of Bill, causing him to jump out of bed with his hands blazing.

Dipper took a step back.

“Easy, Bill, it’s just me.” He waited for Bill to wake up a little more and realize that there was no threat to him, and approached him after the fire was extinguished from his palms. Bill looked almost embarrassed after his sudden outburst, and rubbed the sleep from his slightly bloodshot eyes. He hung his head down and groaned, obviously feeling the effects of last night.

Shuffling over to the corner where he had flung his jacket and shirt, he mumbled obscene words under his breath.

“Stupid human bodies, how does anyone live like this? This is terrible, hangovers are terrible, and why does alcohol do this to people?”

After he had collected his clothes, he turned to Dipper, who was impatiently tapping his foot on the ground.

“I thought we had a deal, Bill. You were supposed to be gone before I even woke up!” He eyed the demon cautiously, and flinched a little as Bill put his hand on Dipper’s shoulder, leaning down a bit to be at eye level with him.

“A deal’s not a deal until you shake on it, Pine Tree. Have you learned nothing by now?” He grinned and stretched back lazily, plopping down on Dipper’s bed.

Dipper groaned and started for the door. “I’m going to see if Stan is awake, and then figure out how to get you out of here without anyone seeing.” He marched out and closed the door, then pulled out his phone, where three missed phone calls from his sister blinked quietly on the screen. He unlocked it and after about one ring, Mabel picked up.

“Hey bro! How’s it going?” Mabel’s cheery voice answered. He heard a smacking sound, like someone was chewing on gum or candy, and it distracted him for a moment, until she spoke again.

“Bro?”

“Oh, uh, you called me, like three times?” He hesitantly pressed.

“Yeah! I thought you would be awake by now, but I guess I was wrong.” Dipper waited for her to continue

“Anyways, Paz got roped into a family thing, and she can’t drive me home, so I need you to come get me.”

Dipper started to sweat, and was fumbling around with a piece of lint that was stuck to his pajama bottoms.

“Um, Mabel? Can it wait, say, twenty minutes? Now isn’t exactly the best time for this!”

His twin became silent over the line, and Dipper instantly regretted what he had said.

“Fine, fine! I’ll come get you, but I’ll have to explain the situation on the way back, and you have to help me out, okay?”

“You got it, Dip. Besides, what could be so important anyways?” She laughed, and said goodbye before hanging up, while Dipper stood in front of the stairs, his phone hanging limply in his hand.

“New plan, Bill…” He trailed off to see him sitting on Dipper’s bed, surrounded by several notebooks, chewed up pencils, his old BABBA cd, and a package of somewhat stale gummy worms open in his lap, absently eating the waxy candy. His shirt and jacket lay on a pile in front of him, and Dipper wondered why he hadn’t put on a shirt yet, before noticing the vomit stains on them.

“Bill? Why are you going through my stuff?” He stared at the candy package, and Bill looked up, a somewhat happy looking glint in his eyes.

“Want one? These must have been under your bed for a while, huh? Also, I love BABBA. Disco Girl was a great song. Also, what’s up with these notebooks? They’re all empty.” He continued to eat, skirting the question about going through Dipper’s stuff. After a silent pause, he piped up again.

“Do you have clothes I can borrow? Mine are covered in puke, which is one thing I despise about corporeal forms; How little alcohol you can intake. Also the hangover is killing me.” He clutched his forehead dramatically, but winced a little when he thought Dipper had completely turned away.

Dipper furrowed his eyebrows a little as he dug through his drawers for a shirt and shorts Bill could take, since he was a lot smaller than the demon was.

“Bill, if you want to blend in, drinking alcohol before you are of ‘legal age’ is pretty much the last thing you should be doing.” He tossed one of his larger shirts and pants at him, and Bill nabbed them with a smile.

“Did I ever say anything about blending in? It’s funny how you come up with assumptions so quickly.” He pulled the shirt over his head, struggling a bit to pull it down, and Dipper looked him over up and down examining his physical form, but quickly turned away when he noticed Bill glancing at him with amusement, shirt halfway over his torso. He hastily grabbed his own clothes and stormed to the bathroom, muttering about how he would be back.

Dipper’s face was flushed with embarrassment as he shut the door, and he silently cursed himself for letting Bill catch him in the act of looking at his new body. It still intrigued Dipper, although he had been in town with Bill for a while now. And Dipper couldn’t help but deny how good his form looked…

He shook the thoughts out of his head, and forced himself to sing Disco Girl quietly under his breath while pulling on his clothes. He exited the bathroom and knocked on the door, met with a quiet “come in.” Bill was stretched out on the floor now, his party jacket over his eyes.

“So what’s the plan, Pines?” He sat up a little, obviously dreading movement due to his intense hangover.

“Well, I’m going to leave you here. In this room, where you won’t leave until after I’ve come back with Mabel. Then I’ll get you out and take you to Lazy Susan’s place?” He directed the question at Bill, unsure of where he wanted to go.

Bill tapped his chin in thought.

“I was supposed to help out at the Diner today, but seeing as I’m in a state where I’m basically helpless, I guess I should just blow of work and go to her house. And I promise I’ll stay right here, in this room.” He flashed a reassuring smile at Dipper, and since he was satisfied, Dipper exited the room, closing the door. Clomping down the stairs, he noticed, to his disappointment, the kitchen light was on, and Stan was standing in front of the stove, flipping his infamous “Stan-cakes.”

“Hey Dipper! I’m making breakfast and it’s almost ready. You can sit down if you want to.” He motioned to the table with his free hand, but Dipper shot him an apologetic glance.

“Sorry Stan, Mabel needs me to pick her up right now, but I’ll be back!” He quickly raced out the door and into the car, speeding down the road back to the Northwest Manor.

Mabel bounced up and down on her bed, looking at Bill on the floor, and Dipper in the corner.

“So Bill Cipher, demon, was here last night because he was too drunk to give directions, and he didn’t leave in the morning because of the effect of drinking too much, and now you need me to distract Grunkle Stan so you can get said demon out of our house?”

Bill and Dipper looked at each other, and back at Mabel.

“Um, pretty much.” Bill stated. “Look, can we do it quickly so I don’t have to spend any more time here? I can tell when I’ve over stayed my welcome.” He crossed his arms.

Dipper glared at him. “Bill, you were never really welcome here in the first place. I was just being nice so you didn’t spend a night on the street.”

Mabel interjected quickly. “Sure, I’ll do it, it shouldn’t be too hard, I just need to keep Stan busy for a little bit.” She shrugged and headed out the door. “Wait for me to start talking about the necessity of adding glitter to the attractions, okay?”

Dipper headed cautiously down the stairs, once he heard Mabel start talking to Stan, and waited for the voices to fade to a different part of the house before signaling for Bill to follow. Bill ran out the door and headed for the car, and Dipper was about follow suite, when he heard the sound of someone coughing from the hallway.

He froze up and turned around, his great-uncle Ford emerging from his room, calling out good morning to Dipper. Deciding that it would be better to avoid Ford wanting to exchange hellos, he booked it and practically flew into the car. Bill looked at him strangely as Dipper stared at the wheel for a minute before turning on the car and putting it into drive.

“Everything okay? Because this was seemingly uneventful.”

“We almost were seen by great-uncle Ford, I really gotta remember that this guy is here!” Dipper put his foot on the pedal, and pulled away from the shack for the second time that day.

“Which way?”


	10. Taxipurrmey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man I'm so sorry about such a long wait, school has been super stressful, and I've had a lot of things going on, but writing was always on the back of my mind. Hopefully this chapter and the next one, although short, will be enough. I'm trying to ease back into writing, so I really do apologize if this isn't as up to par with previous chapters, but there's just a lot going on right now. I have a tumblr if anyone ever wants to send questions about the fic or situations, or just anything, and I would be more than happy to respond, I might also post about updates and what's going on. https://www.tumblr.com/blog/crystalmindscape i'm still setting it up, since it's not my main blog. Enjoy this chapter!

Dipper put the car in park, and stepped onto the driveway in front of Lazy Susan’s house, examining the small building. He turned back around to the car, to see Bill stumbling out of the car, groaning due to the harsh sunlight. Bill rummaged through his pockets before pulling out a small silver key, and treading up the porch, fumbling with the lock for a moment before inserting the key successfully and stepping inside.

Dipper hesitantly peered inside, and was greeted by the sight of about four cats following Bill as he meandered deeper into the house. He was slightly shocked by the sight of Bill scooping up one of them, a scrawny three-legged one, and holding it under his arm as he turned a corner. Assuming it was okay to step inside, Dipper followed Bill into the kitchen, slightly bothered by the feeling of cats randomly coming up to him and rubbing themselves on his legs.

Bill had perched himself on top of the counter, holding a bag of potato chips, absently chewing on them while staring into the distance. He turned his head to meet Dipper’s gaze, and motioned his head towards a rusty coffee pot near the back.

“Mind making me some? I keep forgetting how bad hangovers feel.”

Dipper silently moved towards what he assumed was the pantry, and rummaged through the shelves until he found the coffee beans, pouring them into the machine and setting it to brew. He noticed Bill slip off of the counter and open the fridge, pulling out a slim black can of… was that Monster? Bill cracked it open and took a sip, before setting aside, and leaning back against the wall, staring at Dipper with his uncovered eye.

The silence between the two was unsettling to Dipper, especially with Bill staring, and he gingerly cleared his throat in a feeble attempt to start a conversation.

“So, Lazy Susan has a lot of cats, huh?” He bent down to pick up a small one that was leaning against his leg.

Bill grinned, and started off into a different room. “You haven’t even seen the half of it, Pines.”

They entered a large room with a couch, a table with a tea set, and about thirty or so stuffed cats sitting on the shelfs. Bill went around to each one, examining the cats one by one, while Dipper looked on in mild interest, slightly weirded out.

“So, is she like, an avid cat collector?” He put his hand on one of them, admiring how real the fur felt.

“Something like that,” Bill straightened out some cats that had fallen over a little. “These are all of her dead cats. She stuffed them to remember them.”

Dipper screeched and yanked his hand off of the stuffed animal, gazing around the room in horror.

“Bill, what the hell?” He moved towards the door a little, while the demon was laughing so hard that he had to wipe away tears.

“Relax, it’s not like they can do anything to you, they’re already dead! I admire Lazy Susan for this, it’s quite impressive. When she showed it to me when I first arrived, I knew we were going to get along. Also, I like to work in here from time to time.”

Dipper shook his head, and went back to the kitchen, where the coffee machine was gurgling, and poured it into two cups. He handed one to Bill as he walked through the kitchen door, and watched in fascination as Bill grabbed the abandoned can of Monster and proceeded to pour it straight into his coffee before chugging.

“Want any?” Bill motioned the can of Monster Dipper’s way, but he shook his head no.

“That sounds like it’s going to give me nightmares before I even fall asleep. Reminds me of something Mabel would eat.” Setting his cup down, he pointed at the door.

“I think I should probably leave now? Hope your hangover feels better.” With that he booked it out the door and into the car, where he sat and thought about what had just happened. So Bill was just as crazy as he had been when he and Mabel were kids, that hadn’t changed, even if Bill was in a human form. As for Lazy Susan… Dipper figured it would be better if some things were better left to the imagination.

-

Bill watched from the window as Dipper pulled out of the driveway and back up the road to the shack. Hands jittering slightly from all the caffeine he had downed, he stalked back into the kitchen, where the sight of Dipper’s still full coffee cup stirred up something inside of him. Opening the pantry, he dug around until he found his stash of gummy worm bags, and headed to the cat room.

Bill wasn’t sure why he liked the sour candy so much, but since it was one of the first things he had eaten in his human body, he had always found himself with a pack on hand. Absently popping the treats into his mouth by the handful, he found himself mulling over the fact that he was able to torment the Pines once more.

That moment earlier when Dipper freaked out over the dead cats had been confusing to him, but also slightly endearing as well. Bill wasn’t too sure why someone would get frightened at the stuffed cats, considering that he had seen at least 3 animals subject to taxidermy while rushing through the Mystery Shack. But the way he had jumped back, startled and flushed in the face, had stirred something inside of him, a feeling that he was unsure about. He dismissed it, and curled up on the sofa, gazing at the dead cats, a feeling of peace washing over him as he shut out the headache that was throbbing in his head once more, partially from the coffee, partially from the overwhelming knowledge of the universe crammed into one tiny human mind, and slowly fell asleep.


	11. School Day Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, here is the second chapter of the two chapter update, they kind of correlate to each other so I figured it would be good to publish them together. My tumblr if you want to ask questions or anything at all: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/crystalmindscape
> 
> (P.S. i'm sorry i'm the queen of POV switching! Apologies if its awkward of difficult to follow :') )

“No way, that’s gross! Kind of sweet, but mostly gross!” Mabel stuck her tongue out in disgust as she keenly listened in on the retelling of the events at Lazy Susan’s home. “I can’t believe she paid to have her dead cats stuffed, like it's different if it’s not an animal you had a close relationship with. Grunkle Stan didn’t know any of the stuffed animals in the shack!” She became silent for a moment. “I think.”

Dipper smacked her arm lightly. “Now isn’t the time to get all sentimental about our great uncle’s dead animal habits!” Mabel pouted, while her brother raked his fingers through his disheveled hair.

“He’s just so… weird! Like he probably knew that showing me all those dead cats would freak me out, but it’s Bill, so what did I expect? I should have known that coming back here would mean being plagued by the supernatural again, except now we have school to worry about too.”

Mabel wrapped her arms around her brother’s shoulders in an attempt to comfort him. “Bro, it’s okay! It’s not like Bill can do anything to us, he’s just as at risk of being chased by some random creature in the woods as we are!” She looked at her twin’s frustrated face, her smile falling.

“Dipper, why are you so hung out about this? It’s not like we can do anything, and if you were planning on killing him, just know he’s a part of, although maybe not loved, but still a physical part of the town now. Although I’m surprised Stan and Ford haven’t caught him out yet.” She took a deep breath. “Can’t we just enjoy what happens, even if it might involve a psychotic demon in a human body? You were so excited to come back up here after four years, and now it’s like you just want to go home again.”

Dipper looked over at his sister, a reassuring smile on his lips but worry in his eyes.

“I don’t know, I just hope he doesn’t bother us too much.”

Mabel glanced at the triangular attic window, and sighed.

“Me too.”

_                                         

Dipper was starting to think that he had jinxed himself. Every day at school was getting increasingly more frustrating. Bill seemed to be at every turn and corner, popping up at his locker in between classes, working his way in between Dipper and Mabel at the lunch table, and science class.

_Science class._

“Hey Bill, did you see my homework? I swear it was just on the desk a moment ago…” Dipper searched on the floor, but when he sat back up, he was greeted with the sight of a small pile of ashes on Bill’s lap, one of his fingers making a tiny blue flame. He put his finger to his lip, and pulled out his work, handing it in to the teacher.

“Mr. Pines, this is the third time this week you haven’t had your work, I expect more from you, especially in an advanced class such as this one.” He walked away, leaving Dipper to shoot daggers at Bill, while the other boy was trying not to fall off of his chair, racked with laughter. After silently suffering in wait for the bell to ring, He cornered Bill outside of the room the moment class was dismissed.

“Why do you keep doing this to me? Like I get why you might think that school isn’t very important but considering that some of us are going to have to go to college and worry about jobs, I care what goes on in class!” He stood in front of Bill, but the demon could have easily slipped past him. Dipper figured that he was just humoring him.

“You want to know why I’m always bugging you in class.” Bill pulled out some random coins and started tossing it up and down. He kept this up until the warning bell rang, but since Dipper refused to move, he put the coin in his pocket, and continued.

“It’s kind of fun, to be honest. You get really flustered, and it’s such a… human thing to do. Even though it’s always been a personal view of mine that humans are especially mundane, it’s kind of exhilarating to see this kind of stuff up close and… physical.” He looked down at Dipper, and softly smiled a little, before stepping around him, and lazily walking through the hall.

“I’m assuming that you don’t want to be late to class, considering that the bell just rang.” He climbed into a stairwell, just as the late bell sounded off, leaving Dipper just standing in the hallway, not really comprehending what was going on.

_

Bill was waiting outside of Mabel’s classroom the moment she stepped outside, and she was yanked to the side of the crowded corridor with a slight yelp, before finding herself inside of a dimly lit janitor’s closet. Bill was leaning against the door, a somewhat wild look in his one uncovered eye, and was essentially ignoring her. Mabel sighed, and reached for the door handle, but the demon’s hand clamped around her wrist.

“Can you let me out? School isn’t over yet.” She put her free hand on her hip, before glaring up at him.

He faced her, wearing a panicked look.

“Shooting star, you have to help me.”

Mabel was taken aback a little by the abruptness, but collected herself and stared at him inquisitively.

“Why should I? You’ve been making my brother like, really stressed out. He’s started chewing on pens again, you should see the ink stains on his shirts…” She trailed off, but Bill shook her slightly to get her focus.

“Shooting star, Mabel, I just, ugh!” He grasped at his hair and slumped to the floor.

Mabel’s eyes opened wide at the pathetic sight of Bill Cipher just… sitting there against a door in a janitor’s closet. She crouched down a little and looked him in the eyes.

“Everything okay?” She put a hand on her shoulder, but he shrugged it off, a mixture of amusement and confusion on his face.

“I appreciate the offer, but it’s not that kind of ‘I need your help.’” He sighed, and looked up at the flickering lightbulb, talking all at once.

“It’s just so fun playing with people’s emotions and it’s nice to watch when he gets flustered or angry at me, and I know that it’s a feeling but you never really get used to having them and I’m not really used to them at all and it’s just so… strange.” He finally finished, taking a deep breath.

Mabel was just staring at him.

“So, um, what _is_ this about exactly? Why are you telling me all of your personal problems?”

“I figured that you were good with, um, it’s romance, right? I know what it is but the words are just so weird and inaccurate to use for me?”

Her eyes light up and a grin spread across her face, as it took every ounce of her willpower to no start squealing in a janitor’s closet during the middle of sixth period.

“So you’re having love troubles? This is something I never thought I would be doing, but I guess there’s no better time than the present than to set up a crazy demon with someone! So who’s the lucky person?”

Bill swallowed. “I’m not sure that this is a good idea, maybe you should just forget this…” He opened the door but Mabel reached over and slammed it shut again.

“Oh no, I’m not leaving until im certain that I’ve found a way to help you, even if it means that I have to skip class.” She wiggled her way through the limited space until she was the one in front of the door. Motioning for him to talk, she leaned in.

“No, this was bad, why the hell did I think this was a good idea, I’ll just be leaving, Shooting Star, please, open the door, let me out!” She had a tight grip on the door knob, and it was clear to Bill that he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Fine.” He scowled. “But I’m going to make you guess first.”

Mabel tapped her chin in thought.

“Pacifica, wait, no. You said it was a guy, right? Wendy’s little brother? I can never remember his name…” She was met with an adamant refusal, and struggled to think of people.

“Is it like, Lil Gideon? I saw him here, I think he’s a freshman, which is disgusting.” Both Mabel and Bill shuddered at the thought.

“Way off.” Bill looked around nervously.

“Well, I can’t think of anyone else off the top of my head, so…?” She left the air between them silent, until it grew so awkward that Bill couldn’t take it anymore.

“It’s your fucking brother, alright? This is so embarrassing, he’s so freaked out all the time and awkward, and for some absurd reason I manage to find this endearing, and almost cute!” Bill turned around so that Mabel wouldn’t see him furiously blushing.

Her jaw was wide open, gaping at news she had just heard.

“Oh my god, are you serious? Dipper? Why would you come to me, I’m his _twin_ for god’s sake! Although…” She mulled over the thought. “I think I can make this work. But you’re going to have to work really hard to make up for the past few weeks. He’s not exactly harboring the best feelings about you at the moment.

“So you’ll help me? I sound so pathetic, asking for help.” He buried his face in his hands, while Mabel pat his shoulder.

“Trust me, when it comes to stuff like this, we could all use a little help.”

 


	12. "Friendship" Bracelet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year everyone! I would like to thank you guys so so SO MUCH for being so patient and kind with me, it's been about 3 months since i uploaded a new chapter, and I was going through a lot of things, seeing that you liked my work and were encouraging me made me so happy and motivated, and I really wanted to work on a new chapter for you guys, but my writers blog was extreme (the worst thing especially when you WANT to write) and my school and mental health was taking a toll on my time and ability. It's not too long but I hope this chapter can satiate your need while i work on the next one, thank you again for being patient and here for me.  
> I love you guys and I hope you enjoy my work, don't forget to comment or leave a kudo if you liked it! :)

Mr. Jones waited for the class to become dead silent before dropping a stack of forms on his desk with a loud thud.

“The annual AP Biology research trip.” He announced calmly, carefully watching the class to see their reaction. He nodded a little to himself when he saw some kids perk up at the mention of a class trip.

“This is a trip that we make every year, leaving on Thursday and returning on Sunday to perform field investigations and analysis of specific events. This trip is optional, but it's a tradition in this school, for a chance to use the Oregon wild for educational purposes. Forms are on my desk if you're interested, I would highly suggest that every student tries to go on this trip. People say it's the best part of the year.” He offered a kind of smile, which sent a shudder down Dipper’s spine. The bell rang to dismiss class, and he got up to join the line of student picking up papers from the desk. He watched Mabel and her friends fall into the line, and Bill tag on at the very end. Dipper rolled his eyes, but was thankful at the distraction that the line would present.

Maybe he would be able to get to his next class without Bill tagging along with him to talk. It was strange, how he seemed to be making an effort to be nice all of a sudden.

Mabel had seemed nonchalant about it when Dipper mentioned his suspicions to her.

“Maybe he’s had a change of heart! I think that would be so nice, we could all be friends!”

“Mabel, you're getting too caught up in his little human act! He's planning something, I’m sure of it. He probably just needs to get on our good sides so he can use us for some kind of blood ritual or something!” He nervously had started chewing on his pen, and didn't notice Mabel cover her knowing smirk with a sigh.

“I dunno, I think you're being a bit hasty with all of this. Just give him a chance! I think we should all let people prove themselves again. And even if you keep being obnoxiously suspicious, it doesn't change the fact that he’s still trying to be nicer.”

“But Mabel!” He was cut off by her glare.

“Would you rather have him be a sadistic dick to you? If he still derives pleasure from your fear, he's hiding it well. Blending in.” She nodded in approval as he had sighed, and hung his head in defeat.

His relief didn't last long before he sensed a person walking behind him. Taking a quick stop, Bill crashed into him, and gripped his shoulder to stop himself from falling. Dipper sighed, and put on a smile before turning around.

“I was wondering where you were, I noticed you were gone!” He remarked in an obviously fake tone, but Bill seemed to ignore it, smiling a bit smugly at the thought of being missed.

“I’m glad you missed me, Pines, but don’t feel too distraught!” Dipper rolled his eyes, but Bill was too caught up in himself to notice.

“Anyways, I brought you something!” They were stopped right outside of Dipper’s class, and he stopped right outside the door, looking at Bill. He watched the boy fumble around in his bag, before pulling out a bracelet littered in strange little white charms.

Not charms, Teeth.

Dipper recoiled a bit, but leaned forward to take the bracelet after noticing the hurt expression in the other boy’s eye. He slipped it on his wrist, shuddering a bit at the fact that it was made out of teeth, but also feeling a bit fluttery inside at receiving a present that Bill had clearly put effort into it.

“There was a deer in the woods, and so I took its teeth, I made myself a matching one!” He held up his wrist to expose another bracelet dangling around.

“Friendship bracelets are still a thing, right? I just wanted to do something… nice?” He almost seemed to be blushing a bit at the last part.

Dipper didn’t know what to say at this sudden revelation. Maybe Mabel was right. Maybe he really _was_ trying to be friends after everything he had done. It was definitely a step up from the last thing Bill had given him. The next day’s homework for math, except all of the answers had been wrong, and Bill had silently stood there as Dipper corrected them all and handed the sheet back to him.

The warning bell rang, bringing Dipper out of his thoughts.

“You should get to class, Bill. Three tardies makes a detention, you of all people should know that.”

Bill waved it off. “I’ve already got a detention for after school today, which I’m definitely not going to. You know where to find me if you need a ride home!” He took off in the direction of his class, and Dipper shook his head in amusement before slipping into the room.

….

The deer teeth bracelet was sitting at the base of his lamp as Dipper tried with increasing frustration to start his homework, but continuing to lose his train of thought. He couldn’t focus on biology, or English, or math, or anything. He kept coming back to the awkward events during the day.

“Friendship bracelets are still a thing right?” Dipper glanced at the creamy white teeth, how well made it appeared to be. Although it still grossed him out a little, Dipper couldn’t get over how Bill was trying hard to get on Dipper’s good side, in his own creepy and messed up way.

He grabbed it, and inspected the item a bit more, rolling his finger over each tooth, before slipping it back on his wrist. He didn’t know why, but the gesture had stirred up pleasure in him. It was fun to see Bill stumbling over his actions and words, clearly out of his element. Almost endearing.

He jerked up a little at the sound of Mabel kicking the door open before flopping onto the bed, ignoring the hazardous creaking sounds that followed.

“Why do we always have so much homework? I had important plans today!” His sister dramatically placed her hand on her forehead.

“Are you sure about that?” Dipper mockingly responded, sliding the chair over to the bed where she lay.

“Yes! Like for starters, asking you where you got THAT?” She tapped the bracelet on his wrist. “Seems a bit too… skeletal for your tastes.”

Dipper grabbed his wrist away, his face instantly filling with a red blush of embarrassment. “It’s nothing!” He yelped, and turned around, not sure why he was so flustered at Mabel’s innocent statement.

“Dips?” Mabel slowly sat up, and Dipper heard the bed creaking and shifting as she moved to stand up.

“It was a gift from Bill. He called it a friendship bracelet, but it was so weird, I mean, who give friends matching bracelets made of deer teeth?” He groaned loudly. “It just seems so out of character for him, he’s clearly struggling with the whole not being psychotic idea… But it’s kind of a nice change.” He faced Mabel, who faced drastically shifted from one of smug approval to one of innocence the moment her brother turned. “Maybe you were right about giving him a second chance. He’s trying hard.”

“It’s my own personal mantra in giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, you know that by now!” She put a hand on his shoulder. “Trust me, even I’m noticing how hard he’s trying to be our friend. It’s pretty weird though, to see a demon of chaos trying to be best buddies with you all of a sudden, I’ll give you that.”

“But I seriously have a lot of homework. Why is there even art homework? In what world does art need homework?” Mabel peeled away and headed to her backpack to sift through its contents. She pulled out a slightly rumpled piece of paper, and her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Hey Dippin Dots, are you going to go on that biology research trip? A weekend with Mr. Jones is the last thing I want to do, but I did hear him mention extra credit…” She pulled a piece of her hair around and began to chew on it in concentration.

“Oh yeah! I almost forgot about that. I think we should sign up for it.” He watched Mabel pull out a gold glitter pen and start filling out the information needed. He leaned over and pulled out a purple glitter pen, and began to do the same.

“What a glamorous vacation in the Oregon wilderness. I hope you like camping.” Mabel grinned.

….

Bill was staring at the paper lying on the table in front of him. A trip into the supernatural plagued woods of Gravity Falls was something that delighted the demon, and the thought of being able to harass his classmates with disgusting looking animals and obnoxious jokes about how so and so reminded him of said animal filled him with delight.

Picking up the pen, he added a finishing touch to the forms.

Rooming request: Dipper Pines.


	13. Mission Impossible: File Cabinet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been on a writing rampage, which is much much better than extreme writers block! I'm really excited and pleased about this chapter and the next few, its something I've had had planned out for a long time! Thank you so much for reading my work, comment and kudo please if you enjoyed it!

“I totally failed that!” Kids could be heard groaning as they wandered out of the math classroom and into the school to their lunch spots. Bill wandered out of the room slowly, expecting to find his way to the picnic table by himself, but was surprised to find Dipper leaning on the wall outside of the room, absently twisting the bracelet Bill had given him around his wrist. He looked up at Bill standing in front of him, and took off, taking a moment to pause and see if the demon was following behind him.

“Are we going to lunch or are you just gonna stand outside of math forever? I'm getting hungry!” Bill sped up a little, and Dipper began again, managing to keep pace with Bill’s long strides. The air had cooled off significantly, and the people who were braving the windy Oregon day to sit outside and eat were bundled up with scarves, scooched close together like a huddle of penguins.

Bill slid into his usual place next to Mabel and Grenda and Dipper took his beside Pacifica and Candy. They were engaged in conversation about something, and Bill didn’t pay any mind to them, picking at his peanut butter and nacho cheese Dorito sandwich. However, Mabel poked his arm slightly, bringing his attention back.

“You're going on the science trip, right? I've heard it's a lot of fun from the people who took the class last year!”

“Oh, of course! Did you think I would miss out on a chance to slip insects into someone's pants while they weren't looking? The great outdoors is the perfect place to mess with people!” He put his hands behind his head, and leaned back onto nothing, grinning maliciously. Candy giggled at this, and Dipper looked at her with shock.

“What, he’s right! There's lots of weird bugs in these woods to find and do stuff with!”

“You two are crazy! Why would you want to mess around with those things, they could have like, a weird virus or something.” He made a face, and Candy laughed hard.

“You're just being squeamish! Do you have something against bugs?” She teased him innocently.

Clearly bugged by the conversation, Pacifica jumped in earnestly.

“So everyone here is going on the trip, right? Who did you ask to room with?”

Everyone at the table rattled off the names of their best friends, one kid glaring when the girl she sat next to didn't say hers.

“Pacifica and I are gonna room together, I think. Who did you pick, Dips?” She looked at Bill slyly.

“Matthew Corduroy.” He calmly responded. “What about you, Bill?”

Bill smiled, but his eyes were filled with a hint of worry. “I don't think I filled out anyone. I forgot to, but I'll do it later.”

“The forms are due today, Bill, better make up your mind quickly!” Grenda interjected.

Bill stood up from the table rather suddenly, and everyone at the table looked to him quizzically.

“Mabel, I just forgot that I needed to ask you for something about the English project since you're the only person with the same teacher as me.”

“Wha-?” She looked up at him with  
confusion in her eyes, but noticed the pleading expression that rested on Bill’s face.

“Oh, that? I have the rubric in my locker, if you lost yours!” She stood up as well, and started for the building, with Bill in hot pursuit. Once safely inside, she darted into a fairly empty hallway, and faced Bill, who was grappling with an expression of annoyment and frustration.

“Is there any way you can get your brother to change his mind about his room choice? I picked him, and I don't think he’ll take my request in consideration.” He sighed.

“Why don't you just like, take his paper and change it or something? I don't know why you come to me for stuff like this!” She crossed her arms and gave him a pointed look.

“You think I know where he keeps it? It's not the best idea to just take his bag and rummage around until I find it, trust me. He acts as if that backpack is his life source.” Bill put a hand over his face. “And if you suggest that I stay after class to sneak in and switch the names, you're wrong. I would love to break into Mr. Jones’ file cabinet, because who knows what shit I’ll find in there. No, Lazy Susan told me if I’m late for work one more time this week she’ll kick me out, and I don't know anyone else in this god forsaken town who would be willing to just take in some random kid no questions asked. Besides, where would I keep my jars of blood?” He looked at her pleadingly.

“Ok, why do you even have jars of blood, wait, I don't actually want to know the answer.” Mabel grimaced. “I'll do it for you, but you owe me BIG TIME if I get caught. I don't want ‘trespasser’ on my school file.” She rolled her eyes as Bill pumped his fist in the air.

“You're the best, shooting star! I always knew you had a criminal streak in you!”

“Just know that this is benefiting my career as a future matchmaker, it's for my sake too, you know.”

Bill grinned a little, and followed as Mabel headed back for the table where the conversation had somehow turned to a heated discussion over Bill’s leftover peanut butter and Dorito sandwich sitting on the table.

…

Mabel stood crouched behind a trash bin as she watched Mr. Jones leaving for the day, briefcase in hand. The door shut, and remained unlocked as he treaded down the hall, and she held her breath in anticipation until his footsteps could no longer be heard on the linoleum floors of the empty school. Working quickly, she dashed inside, and shut the door behind her.

Making a beeline for the black file cabinet, she took a deep breath before opening the top drawer.

“What the heck? I did NOT need to see that!” Mabel slammed the drawer shut, horrified by pictures of Mr. Jones posing in swimsuits with his wife. “Bill owes me big time.” She muttered, before moving on to the next cabinet. “Why would he even have those at school? Teachers are so weird.”

Rifling through the drawers, she began looking through file after file. “Syllabus, projects, extra credit…” Her fingers lingered for a bit but she jerked away. It seemed impossible to find it since the file drawers were packed, but she grit her teeth and opened the next drawer, leafing through an endless sea of manila folders , until she spotted one labeled “AP trip.”

“Gotcha!” She pulled it out, and flipped through the forms until she found the one form with Dipper’s name on it. She took her pen and hurriedly scratched out the younger Corduroy brother’s name, replacing it with Bill.

“He’s gonna freak out.” Mabel shook her head and smiled at her handiwork. Suddenly, the door creaked open, and Mabel stood frozen over the folder. Mr. Jones, briefcase in hand, stood in the doorway.

“Mabel Pines? What are you doing in my room after school? Is that a file?” He stormed over to the desk, ready to bust the girl of stealing test answers.

“I'm disappointed in you, this is extremely shocking! I can't believe you would break into my room to steal from me? That is the ultimate offense a student can commit! You know how much trouble you will be in for thi-” He stopped mid way through his words.

“Are you trying to change the roommate request on your brother’s form?” He made Mabel freeze as she was starting to run out the door.

“Y-yes? I swear, Mr. Jones, I wasn't taking anything, I swear to god! Please don't punishment, I’m trying to help out a friend!”

“And by friend you mean Mr. Cipher. A word of advice, Ms. Pines? That boy is nothing but trouble. I won't report you, but I will make you go to detention for a week for breaking in.” He shook his head. “I just don't understand this.” With a wave of his hand, he motioned for Mabel that she was free to leave, and she let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding.

Mabel didn't need for him to say it twice before she was out the door and running down the hall.


	14. Into the Woods, and Out with the Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The annual AP Bio class field trip. Anything could happen, especially when your roommate happens to be a certain dream demon...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, this has been a long haul. I really apologize for the huge gap of time between this chapter and the last. This has been a chapter that I was excited to write for a super super long time, but school and writer's blog had other plans for me. Thank you so much to everyone who read my fic and liked it, you guys are such a motivation for me to work and get things done. 
> 
> This chapter is a late birthday gift for my beta reader, and one of my best friends, @billciphering on tumblr. She has been a huge part of what this fic is, and I'm so glad she's my beta :). Go check out her blog!
> 
> I hope you all love this chapter as much as I had fun writing it! Kudos are appreciated very much, and if you liked it, comments and reviews are welcome and encouraged. I love hearing you guy's ideas and opinions, it really motivates me.

“WHAT?” Dipper let out a slight screech as a slip of paper holding the roommate assignment was passed out to him. This was the exact opposite of what he wanted.

“What the hell is this?” He marched up to Bill, and shove the slip in his face. “I don't know what you did, or how you did it, but there's no way I'm going to be stuck in a room with you for four days, no matter how nice you've tried to be to me. I still don't trust you.” He glared up at the demon, but Bill didn't seem to have an ounce of smugness on his face. He took a step back from the steaming mad Pines,

“As mad as you might be with me, I didn’t do anything to the name on your paper. Someone else probably picked Matthew, and since it’s most likely that nobody else here chose me, Mr. Jones assigned you to me.” He leaned comfortably against the tree he was standing in front of. Mabel stifled a laugh.

“Anyways, Pine Tree, it's not like anything's gonna happen. We’re just sharing a room. I appreciate the enthusiasm, though.” His calm expression shifted to one of hurt, clearly offended by Dipper’s blatant lack of trust.

“Whatever. Just don't try anything on me.” Dipper stalked away. Part of him was furious with the situation. He had barely started to accept the demon’s new found kinder side, and didn't know how long it would last. It was much better to keep his distance from everything than to get involved and end up dead. But, a part of him was intrigued, like a child in a candy shop. A really dangerous candy shop. Filled with dangerous dream demons. Another part of him, a very small part, was actually kind of glad to be rooming with Bill. He wasn't exactly the worst looking person to be in a room with…

Dipper shook the thought out of his head, and begin to fall into the line of students clambering up the steps to the bus. Determined to remain away from Bill until it was mandatory, he slipped into the space next to his twin, and was met by a rather nasty glare from Pacifica, who huffed and  
The ride was excruciatingly long for Dipper, fixating on how he was going to deal with Bill as his roommate. Mabel’s offer would only stand for so long, and Pacifica wouldn’t be the most accommodating friend for his personal strife. Sinking deeper into the seat than he thought was possible, he looked around, envious of Mabel’s carefree attitude.  
took the seat behind them. He watched Bill slide into a space and stick his legs over it to make sure that he would have his own private space.

What a guy.

Groaning a bit, he slumped down in his seat as the bus took off, headed for the wilderness retreat that the students would be staying in.

Mabel noticed the panicked look on her twin’s face, and patted his shoulder reassuringly.

“Don't worry, Dip Dop, nothing's going to happen. Just think of this as an opportunity to get to know Bill better! He's really trying hard.”

“Mabel, Bill is literally a demon. He might be acting okay for now, but he's really weird in front of other people, so what the heck is he going to do when I'm alone in a room with him? He could like, imprison my mind, torture me, possess me, or steal my hair and blood for an ancient ritual! This just spells bad news to me.” Dipper crossed his arms, and looked away, deep in thought about every possible scenario that could happen, frantically running the list through his mind.

“You’re psyching yourself out, as per usual, bro. Just relax! If things get bad, you can always pop into my room, and I’m sure Pacifica won’t mind. Besides, it’s just four days. Don’t tell me you can't survive four days with a demon teenager, because i know you’ve called me the equivalent. Give it a chance, Dipper.” She sighed a bit as Dipper turned his back to her a little.

“Whatever. Just know that if something bad happens to me, like if I get possessed, or killed, or something, My ghost is gonna be hanging around to say I told you so.” He rummaged through his backpack and pulled out his phone, slipping headphones in and turning the music on shuffle.

Why couldn’t he just not care? Mabel seemed to really trust Bill, but he had never been able to shake the wariness around the demon, constantly suspicious about his motives. Bill had to want something from the two of them, if he was so insistent about hanging around the twins, right? Dipper sighed. Or not. Maybe all he wanted was a friend.

Dipper glanced over at Bill, who pulled a piece of chewed gum out of his mouth, wadded it up, and stuck it on the back of the seat in front of him, right behind Gabe Bensen. The boy leaned back against the seat unknowingly, and Bill snickered softly to himself. Dipper rolled his eyes at the immaturity in the action, but was secretly amused at the action, knowing that Gabe was one of the most pretentious kids in the grade, and could stand to be knocked down a few pegs. He tapped Mabel’s shoulder, getting her attention, and pointed her to the sight of Gabe futilely attempting to peel the sticky residue off of his designer coat. She snickered softly, but was halted by the cease in motion of the bus.

Mr. Jones stood in the front of the bus, attempting to gain the student’s attention.

“Alright everyone, we’ve arrived, so I’m going to need everyone to get off of the bus, and wait right outside the cabins, so I can give you and your roommate your keys.” He turned around and began to plod down the steps to the wilderness.

Mabel leaned to Dipper and whispered in his ear. “This place looks more like a wilderness resort than a campgrounds.” Her face took on an expression of disappointment, and Dipper nudged her shoulder in an effort to cheer her up.

“Mabel, you hate camping. Besides, I really don’t think the school or Mr. Jones would allow a bunch of 16 and 17 year olds to camp out in the woods for like, three days. Besides, have you seen Mr. Jones? That man looks the least prepared to go camping out of any of us.” Mabel snorted at that, and bent down to pick up her backpack.

“Actually, you look the least prepared to go camping, but that’s a conversation for a different time.” She winked and darted out of the seat, dodging her brother’s attempts to smack her arm. “Have fun, bro-bro!” She called, skipping down the aisle. Dipper smirked a little, his mind taken off from the pressing issue at hand, until he made to move out of the seat and bumped right into Bill. Jumping a little, his grip on his phone loosened, and it tumbled out of his hand onto the floor. Before he could make a move to grab it, Bill had swooped down and clutched the phone, looking up to hand it to Dipper.

Dipper’s heart jumped a little at the action, oh god why? Bill was on his knees on the dirty bus aisle, holding up the rest of the students, and Dipper turned his head away, blushing furiously, before snatching the phone and darting out the door. He joined Candy and Grenda, absently listening in on their conversation about the best way to fashion a stick into a weapon.

Names were called out, signaling students to get their room keys and head inside the lodge. “Pines and Cipher, your room key?” The teacher’s voice blared across the lawn, and Bill strode forwards and grabbed the key from Mr. Jones's waiting hand. He headed back, and Mr. Jones continued to go down the list.

Dipper quickly jogged forwards to join Bill, his efforts to keep up with the long strides worse than walking to school with Mabel. The two entered the building, and headed past the reception towards a long hallway, where other pairs of kids were scouring the door numbers for their own. As Bill glanced down the hallway for the room, Dipper spotted the room, and called down for the other boy to join him. Bill fidgeted with the key, getting it stuck a few times before shoving the door open and falling due to the sudden lack of support.

His leg swung around, and kicked Dipper off his feet, bringing him crashing down onto the dusty smelling carpet. Dazed for a moment, Dipper took a moment to process what happened, and looked down, right into Bill’s smirky grin.

“This has been a lot of fun, Pine Tree, but I think my elbow is bleeding all over the carpet.” Bill’s grin never left his face, and his eyes glared deep into the boy on top of him. Dipper sprung up faster than he thought possible, and took a step back, looking around to see who had spotted the catastrophic event.

Mabel was snickering into her shirt sleeve from across the hall while Pacifica fidgeted with their door, breathing a sigh of relief when it swung open flawlessly.

“This is just my luck.” Dipper grumbled to himself, picking up his backpack from where it had fallen, and stomping into the room, where Bill had seated himself on a bed while an array of bandages littered the quilt. Taking the bed next to the troublesome demon, Dipper groaned and flung an arm over his forehead. He could feel Bill’s gaze watching him, hot with curiosity and amusement.

“Ya know, Pine Tree, I think this has been the most fun I’ve had in weeks. Just a heads up, I’m kind of accident prone, so it looks like your luck hasn’t run out just yet.” He grinned when he saw Dipper’s arm lower a tad to see his expression.

Dipper snorted. “A little accident prone? You’re a crime scene waiting to happen!” He propped himself up with his elbows and let out a laugh. “Mabel tells me I’m jumpy as hell, which probably translates as clumsy to everyone else.” He looked over at Bill, whose expression never changed, just watching the boy, searching for something.

“Come on! Give him a chance! You never know what you might gain from it!” Mabel’s voice rang out in his head, loud and clear. Dipper swallowed.

“So, um, I’m glad this place is more wilderness cabin retreat than school boy scouts adventure, right? I’m not really one for camping outdoors, there’s just so many bugs and things that bite…” He trailed off, cut off by Bill’s laugh.

“Man, there’s nothing I would have enjoyed more than finding some weird bug to shove down that asshole Bensen’s pants, but I’m sure I can find something to work with here. Gotta love collecting data on the Oregon wilderness, dont’cha? There’s a lot of stuff to fuck around with.” He finished putting a band-aid on his large cut, and scooped up the wrappings.

“Human bodies bleed so much, I don’t know how any of you are still alive if you get hurt so much. But I mean, I’ve been surprised by how sturdy people are in the long run, so I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.” He winked and moved into the bathroom to find the trash can.

Dipper pursed his lips in thought for a moment.

“Look, Bill, you know I’m not the most excited about the roommate thing, so maybe tonight, we can just, not really interact much. I’m kind of tired from the bus ride anyways.” He spotted Bill leaning out from the bathroom, his face falling slightly into disappointment.

“Sure thing, Pines. If that’s what you want.”

…

Dipper didn’t think a school trip could be any more weird.

Between Candy murdering various insects and Bill asking how much people would pay him to eat some unidentified lump he grabbed off of the forest floor, it all chalked up to the world’s weirdest camping trip, and the boy was unsure how to feel about it.

“Hey, Dipper! Come check this out!” Mabel called him over to her group, who had taken a break from observing different types of flowers to venture deeper into the underbrush. “Don’t these woods remind you of the ones right behind the Mystery Shack? Only not as creepy and probably not infested with the supernatural.” She grinned, and Dipper glanced at Bill and gave her a pointed look.

She stuck her hands up in resignation. “Okay, okay, not as infested with the supernatural as Gravity Falls.”

Dipper nudged a leaf that was crushed on the ground with the toe of his shoe, staring intently at it. “This trip is so boring, remind me why we signed up to spend our three day weekend with Mr. Jones and the wilderness?” He grumbled.

“Aw, why so grumpy? It’s a chance to experience the outdoors! Fresh air! And he gives extra-credit for this trip, and you know I need it-” Dipper cut her off before her babbling could transform into anything else.

“Hey, check this out!” He bent down and scooted some leaves, revealing a glint of a silver ring.

“Woah, that’s definitely a lot cooler than the plants.” Mabel mumbled, as she bent down to pick it up. Slipping it on her finger, she shook her hand to see if it fit, and proudly extended her hand with the new found trinket on it.

“This this is so cool, do you think it’s an antique?”

“I wonder if the last person who decided to traipse deep through the Oregon wilderness came back.” Dipper quietly mused to himself, and looked up at Mabel, then at the sky.

“Man, we really strayed from the group. Maybe we can come out here later…?” He trailed off, looking for Mabel’s nod of approval.

“Absomalutely, bro! I’ve been waiting to dig my hands into illegal school trip activities. I’m just glad it’s you who brought it up. I hope Pacifica doesn’t mind some late night exploring.”

Dipper looked at the group, and a few members who were venturing into the woods as well, most likely to tell the twins to start heading back.

“I’ll meet you and Pacifica outside of the lodge tonight, alright?”

…

Mabel raised her eyebrows when she saw Bill tagging along with Dipper as he made his way to where she stood with Pacifica. Shrugging his shoulders in defeat, her twin stuffed his hands in his pocket.

“He insisted on tagging along, and I was too tired to argue, so I just let him come.” He flicked on a flashlight, and started trudging his way through the grass to the woods, glancing behind his shoulders to see if the rest of the group was following his lead. Mabel’s phone light lit up, and Pacifica was holding a tiny light up keychain. Bill made no move to garner his own light source, instead loping to where Dipper was and falling in place next to him.

The four of them trudged into the woods, Pacifica pulling her jacket tighter around her body, grumbling about the cold every couple of minutes. The thick of trees enveloped them, and the group wandered around for a bit, Dipper stopping often so that he could shine his light on a suspicious looking lump or animal track.

A swishing sound startled Mabel, and she jumped a tad, letting out a squeak of surprise.

“Aack! What the heck was that?” Her head whipped around, and she pointed her phone at the offending creature.

A bat fluttered around the trees amidst the light, and Mabel let out a sigh of relief. Pacifica had grabbed onto Bill, and was clinging behind him, her eyes glaring at the space where the bat fluttered among the dense leaves. She offered a tight lipped smile to Mabel, and glanced around the dark expanse of trees.

“Look, I don’t think there’s anything out here, so maybe we should head back to the lodge and get some sleep? I’m getting tired anyways.” She loosened her grip on Bill, who awkwardly rubbed at his arm, feeling the sudden rush of blood into the spaces where Pacifica had squeezed.

Dipper hung his head in concession, and the group took off to the entrance of the woods, Pacifica eagerly leading the way. They made their way back to the door they had snuck out of, and tiptoed into the hall, parting ways at their respective rooms. Dipper flopped onto his bed with a sigh, and rolled over to look at the sliding door that lead to the outside.

Hearing the sink running in the bathroom, Dipper used the moment to change out of his clothes, slipping off his shirt and binder in exchange for his pajamas, and then sliding open the glass to sit on one of the small chairs that was positioned outside of the tiny room. Curling his feet up onto the rusted metal, he fidgeted with the front of his shirt, staring up into the stars.

A squeak resonated through the cicadas chirping and the wind blowing past the building, and Bill’s presence could be felt on the ground next to the seat where Dipper was perched. The two boys stared at the night sky in silence, until Bill awkwardly coughed.

“Disappointed that you didn’t find anything interesting?” His words slightly jumbled together, in a seemingly strange mixture of nerves and exhaustion, unusual for Bill’s usually cocky attitude.

“Nah, I didn’t really think we were gonna find anything, but I was willing to give it a shot.” Dipper pulled his knees into his chest, wary about being alone with Bill, but strangely thrilled at the same time. “I just wanted to spend a little more time out there. I’ve always liked the mystery that woods hold, even though that’s probably the lamest thing I’ve ever said.” He closed his eyes, and Bill let out a snort.

“Trust me, Pine Tree, I’ve heard you say way lamer.” He let out a soft chuckle at his own rhetoric.

Dipper shifted slightly, and glanced over his shoulder, where the lanky boy lay stretched on the ground, hair messily piled around, the tips dripping slightly from water, white eyepatch snapped on lazily. He cleared his throat.

“Bill, maybe you could try calling me Dipper, for a change. Whenever you call me Pine Tree, it just makes you seem a lot less… here. It makes you feel a bit above everything. Which you aren’t. So Dipper will do just fine.”

Bill pursed his lips in contemplation.

“Can I call you Dip? Or Dippy? What about the Dipster?” His face spread into a toothy grin, but quickly fell, lightly illuminated by the moon.

“Pine Tr-, Dipper, You still don’t trust me, do you.”

Bill’s words were not posed as a question, but rather a statement, needing confirmation. Dipper sat up at this, caught off guard by the shift in Bill’s words.

“Wh- What makes you think that?” His heart pounded in his ears, did Bill think he hated him?

Dipper was quiet for a moment. Did he hate Bill? In a strange sense, he had grown accustomed to the demon’s presence, hell, had even learned to welcome it. It had become part of his daily life in Gravity Falls. But Bill was still a dangerous creature, and although he wore a human skin and face and body, Bill was something...else.

Did he trust Bill?

Dipper opened his mouth, and then shut it again, unsure about how to form his words, everything catching in the back of his throat. After about a minute or two of silence, Dipper slid off the chair, and onto the ground where the other figure sat still, awaiting his answer.

“You’re right. I don’t trust you. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t not trust you. I guess I just, ugh, this is so difficult and weird to put into words… Look. I guess, I’ve grown to like you here. At first, I was so against you even being in the same room as me, and I guess I still haven’t been able to forget all those scary, frightening things you did to me and my sister that summer. But Mabel told me to give you a second chance, and you’ve been trying so hard to prove that you can be a friend, or something.” He trailed off.

“You’re the weirdest friend I’ve ever had. I guess I want to trust you.”

Bill remained silent, his face conveying no emotion. He seemed deep in thought. Finally opening his mouth, he spoke.

“Thanks. I don’t really understand all these human emotions, I guess.” His eyes focused on the stars, and he slid one finger under his eyepatch before flipping it off, to reveal one glowing, bright yellow eye.

“I guess in some sense, you’re right not to trust me entirely. Humans don’t really let go of things too easily, and I guess it would be ‘insensitive’ of me to expect you to forget.” Bill let out a sigh, and Dipper stared at both of his eyes, moving across the sky, reading some kind of story that he could never truly comprehend. He glanced at the movement in Bill’s arm, and saw his hand slowly curl up into a fist.

“I hated being stuck in this human body. It was a mistake, it was just going to make things harder for me. But now… I’ve found some reasons to like it. Everything is interesting, new, and it’s exciting. But I guess the one thing I like the most about this body is…” Bill stopped, and looked away, his mouth snapped shut quickly.

Dipper peered around him, startled by the abrupt end to Bill’s little heart to heart. He didn’t know what to think, the all powerful, terrifying dream demon Dipper had known so many years ago seemed so…

Scared.  
Small.  
Exposed.  
Human.

Bill whirled around suddenly, until his entire body was facing Dipper’s. Gently gripping his arms, Bill leaned in close, and stared, searching his face, his glowing eye tracing around his features. It almost seemed to be looking inside of him. Dipper sat frozen under the demon’s gaze, until his expression grew softer.

The moon shone down, casting a sort of glow over the two. Bill bit his lip, and opened his mouth.

“Dipper Pines, want to know what I like the most about being stuck in this stupid body?” His voice shook a little, and all Dipper could do was nod.

“I get to be with you.”

Dipper leaned back a little, processing the words, but before it could finally hit him-

Bill Cipher leaned in and kissed Dipper Pines.


	15. Quick message

Hey guys. Thank you so much for the wonderful comments and positive response to my last chapter, everyone who reads my fic means the world to me and is a big motivation to me.

Since you guys mean so much to me, I felt like you all deserved an update on what's going on right now. Unfortunately, there has been a death in my family very recently and so things are slightly chaotic for me, so I'm not too sure how long it might be before I can get the next chapter finished. I was really aiming for before the end of this month, but now I'm not so sure. I hope all of you can sit tight for a little while longer, thank you so much for enjoying my work.

I will delete this update after I post the new chapter.


	16. No more updates

This fic has basically been abandoned. I'm not going to orphan it, but there will not be any more updates. I lost interest in billdip as well as writing this fic a long time ago, especially after my great-grandmother died, and I can't foresee myself finishing the fic any time in the future. It's been way over a year, so I'd like to apologize to everyone waiting for an update, and everyone who read and enjoyed this fic. Your reads, kudos, bookmarks and comments meant a lot to me as a writer, and I would like to thank you all. I'm sorry I didn't make this announcement sooner.

-porcelainHeart


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